European Tour back in China

August 2, 2013 The Foshan Open scheduled from October 17-20 at Foshan Golf Club, in Guangdong Province will bring The European Tour to China after five years.

The organizers believe that with 2016 Olympics in mind, the Foshan Open will provide an excellent opportunity for the large Chinese contingent to gain valuable World Ranking points.

The 126-man field for the inaugural Foshan Open will comprise 63 players from the Challenge Tour and 63 from the host nation, including a number of sponsor’s invitations.

[highlight] Not only will it provide a great opportunity for up to 60 Chinese players to demonstrate their skills, but they will also get the chance to pick up World Ranking points [/highlight]

“This is an important event for Chinese players,” said Zhang Xiao-ning, Vice President and Secretary General of the CGA. ”Not only will it provide a great opportunity for up to 60 Chinese players to demonstrate their skills, but they will also get the chance to pick up World Ranking points this year and hopefully in the future years leading up to the Olympics,” He added

The Foshan Open will carry prize money of US$350,000 and will mark the first of three lucrative events at the end of the Challenge Tour season; with the US$300,000 National Bank of Oman Golf Classic taking place the following week and the €330,000 Challenge Tour Grand Final bringing the campaign to a close one week later.

The last time a Challenge Tour event was held in China was in September 2008, when Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin won the Qingdao Golf Open by six strokes.

The Foshan Golf Club, in Shishan Town, China has been recently been renovated in order to host a major international tournament.

Alain de Soultrait, Director of the European Challenge Tour, said: “This is an important strategic step for the Challenge Tour. China is now a major player on the global golfing stage, so as an international Tour it is very important for us to stage an event there.