Nov. 23, 2004 – The European Tour kicks off its 2005 schedule this week with the Volvo China Open, which tees off Thursday in Shanghai, and two more official tournaments will be played before the Christmas break.
Jointly sanctioned for the first time by the European Tour and the Asian Tour, the Volvo China Open will make its first appearance on the European Tour schedule when Shanghai Silport Golf Club hosts the $1 million tournament.
Next week, the circuit heads to the Hong Kong Golf Club for the Omega Hong Kong Open on Dec. 2-5, with the tournament taking its place on the tour for a fourth successive season. A prize fund of $800,000 will be on offer, a significant increase on the previous year's figure.
The spectacular Leopard Creek Golf Course in Mpumalanga, South Africa, will host the Dunhill Championship for the third leg of the 2005 European Tour schedule on Dec. 9-12 in what will be the last official tournament before the Christmas break.
The circuit will then resume in South Africa when the South African Airways Open, the second oldest national Open in world golf, takes place at Durban Country Club on Jan. 20-23, 2005. Both South African events will carry a prize fund of about $750,000.
The Volvo China Open, which has been contracted through 2007, will be the European Tour's second visit to mainland China and further emphasizes Volvo's increasing investment in the Asian market. The first Volvo China Open was staged at Beijing International Golf Club in 1995 while last year's champion was Liang Wei-Zhang, China's No. 1 golfer and a Member of both the European Tour and the Asian Tour.
The Omega Hong Kong Open is the longest running sporting event in Hong Kong, dating back to 1959. Over the past 46 years, some of the great names in golf have won the title including seven major champions -- Australians Greg Norman and Peter Thomson, Americans Orville Moody and Tom Watson, Germany's Bernhard Langer, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal and Welshman Ian Woosnam. Last year's winner was Ireland's Padraig Harrington.
The Dunhill Championship, which has been based at Houghton Golf Club for nine of its 10 appearances since joining the European Tour in 1995, has provided innumerable thrilling moments in recent years, particularly in the closing moments. In 2004, for a second successive year, the title was decided in a playoff, with Germany's Marcel Siem holding off the French duo of Raphael Jacquelin and Gregory Havret for his first European Tour title.
The tournament has also been the springboard for other talented young players in recent years with Australian Adam Scott claiming the title for his winning breakthrough in 2001, England's Justin Rose in 2002 and South Africa's own Trevor Immelman in 2003.
Source: PGA
