The Faldo Series has announced it will return to Taihu International Golf Club in Suzhou, China on 2-3 July. The Ladies European Tour venue expects a record field for the sixth Faldo Series Shanghai Championship after hosting the tournament for the first time in 2012.
“We were excited to bring the Faldo Series to Suzhou last year and we look forward to benefitting even more young golfers in 2013,” said Li Chao, General Manager of Taihu International, located 100 kilometres west of Shanghai. “As home of the Ladies European Tour’s China Suzhou Taihu Open, and now the Faldo Series Shanghai Championship, we are committed to growing golf in China at all levels.”
Golfers aged 12 to 21 will line up in the 36-hole Shanghai Championship with five places on offer at the eighth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final. Five age-category winners – three boys and two girls – will join Sir Nick Faldo for the World Amateur Golf Ranking event at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen next March.
A programme of events will also take place off the course during the Faldo Series at Taihu International, with competitors set to receive expert advice from guest speakers, and younger children from the local community invited to attend a junior coaching camp.
Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year. Past winners include Major Champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.
In September 2014, Faldo will begin taking students at a full-time residential academy for education and golf development in America. The first ever FaldoSeriesAcademy in Casa Grande, Arizona is also home to the Faldo Series USA and marks the next significant step in the programme’s history.
The 2013/2014 Faldo Series Asia schedule features a record 19 tournaments in 15 countries, including four in mainland China, two in India and others in The Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Faldo Series Asia is supported by The R&A, ISPS Handa and Mission Hills. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation.
Golfers born in 1992 or later wishing to enter the Faldo Series at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club on July 2-3 can email zhangyi@taihugolf.com or visit www.taihugolf.com.cn.
Faldo Series www.nickfaldo.com