Mission Hills Group in China has announced that The R&A will provide funding towards a new golf scholarship programme being set up at the world’s largest golf facility. The scholarships at Mission Hills will support talented young Chinese golfers by providing financial grants towards their golf training and competition.
Tenniel Chu, Vice-Chairman of Mission Hills Group was joined by Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A for the announcement at Mission Hills Shenzhen in southern China, one of two Mission Hills resorts spanning 40 square kilometres and 22 golf courses.
Also present was Edmund Chu, Managing Director of SECA, China’s fastest growing sports management company which will partner with Mission Hills to underwrite the new scholarship initiative. The announcement took place during a keynote address by Mr. Slumbers to more than 200 delegates at Sports Connects, the China Sports Forum.
Tenniel Chu, Mission Hills Group Vice-Chairman said: “Since my late father founded Mission Hills 25 years ago, my family has been fully committed to growing golf in China. We have invested millions of dollars into youth development and more than 100,000 competitive rounds have been played by junior golfers at Mission Hills.
This announcement is another exciting chapter in our long relationship with The R&A, dating back to when Mission Hills hosted the first Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2009. The R&A’s commitment to growing the game in China has been unwavering throughout.”
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A said: “This Golf Scholarship Programme is an important step forward in supporting young people in China, in both golf and personal development. The outcomes of initiatives like this that will underpin The R&A’s purpose, to ensure golf is thriving 50 years from now.”
Edmund Chu, Managing Director of SECA said: “Given our work with several Chinese athletes and events and our long-term friendship with Mission Hills SECA is committed to supporting the next generation of sporting talent in China.
As the global governing body for golf, The R&A’s endorsement and support of our scholarship programme is significant and will hopefully allow us to unearth the next Feng Shanshan or Li Haotong, and potentially a future Open champion.”
Underwritten by Mission Hills and SECA, the Golf Scholarship Programme at Mission Hills will aim to support talented Chinese golfers aged 18 and under, boys and girls, with financial grants towards their training and competition and potentially their education. The application process and further details on the programme will be announced in the coming weeks with the aim of taking in students from early next year.
Later in 2019, the programme will be expanded to support students in other sports as well, including basketball and football in conjunction with FC Barcelona and the NBA, both of whom announced strategic partnerships with Mission Hills in 2017.
ENDS
Photo Captions:
1 - From left to right: Tenniel Chu, Vice-Chairman, Mission Hills Group; Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive, The R&A; and Edmund Chu, Managing Director, SECA announcing the Mission Hills Junior Golf Scholarships in Shenzhen, China.
2 - Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group and Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A with pupils from Bromsgrove School Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China.
ABOUT MISSION HILLS GROUP
Mission Hills Group, owner and operator of Mission Hills resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan, is synonymous with leisure, wellness, entertainment and luxury.
Founded in 1992, Mission Hills is recognized as one of the world’s leading golf brands and a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry. The world-class integrated leisure and wellness resort destinations have hosted more than 100 international tournaments, dating back to the World Cup of Golf in 1995, the first international golf tournament in China. Mission Hills has also been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Largest Golf Club” and the “World’s Largest Mineral Springs and Spa Resort”.
Mission Hills’ properties sprawl over 40 square kilometres. They include 22 championship courses designed by renowned players and architects from five continents, five-star resorts, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centres, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility. Mission Hills is also the official training headquarters for China’s Tennis, Football and Golf Associations.
The Group’s ‘golf and more’ leisure philosophy has seen its tourism-related business expand into a leisure hub for multi-generational families. Mission Hills Centreville in Shenzhen and Haikou provides integrated shopping, recreational, business, education, entertainment, leisure and cultural experiences, including Bromsgrove School Mission Hills in Shenzhen in collaboration with the historic British boarding school. Mission Hills has also extended its foray into the hospitality industry by partnering with world-renowned hotel brands such as Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton. These collaborations have seen the opening of Ritz-Carlton’s first golf resort hotel in China and China’s first Hard Rock Hotel in Shenzhen.
Other significant projects include Movie Town in Haikou in partnership with China’s largest film production company, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation and award-winning director, Feng Xiaogang and China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park in collaboration with Australia’s leading entertainment group and largest theme park operator, Village Roadshow Limited.
Mission Hills has also announced ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona and the NBA to bring the world’s most famous football club and the world’s largest professional basketball league to its Haikou resort, making Hainan island a leading hub for football and basketball development in China.
For more information and latest updates, visit www.missionhillschina.com or follow Mission Hills China on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
About The R&A
The R&A group of companies was formed in 2004 to take on The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ responsibilities for governing the Rules of Golf, staging The Open, golf’s original championship, and developing the sport. The British Golf Museum in St Andrews is part of the R&A group.
Together The R&A and the USGA govern the sport of golf worldwide, operating in separate jurisdictions with a commitment to a single code for the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status and Equipment Standards. The R&A, through R&A Rules Ltd, governs the sport worldwide, outside of the United States and Mexico, on behalf of over 36 million golfers in 143 countries and with the consent of 156 organisations from amateur and professional golf.
The R&A merged with the Ladies’ Golf Union in 2017 and now has responsibility for running a series of world class amateur events and international matches in women’s and girls’ as well as men’s and boy’s golf. The R&A works with IMG to stage the Women’s British Open and with the European Tour to stage the Senior Open.
The R&A is committed to investing £200 million in developing golf over the next decade and supports the growth of the sport internationally, including the development and management of sustainable golf facilities. For more information, visit www.randa.org.
Further information:
The R&A Corporate Communications
+44 (0) 1334 460000
media@randa.org
About SECA
SECA is one of the fastest growing and most stable sports companies in China, focusing on IP development, management and operation. It was founded in 2010 by founder and CEO Mr. Li Sheng, and invested by CMC in 2016. It takes "Creation, Influence and Harvest" as its motivation. SECA owns three business units: sports events, sports media and international business.