Wu Dian-Chao of China will lead the local charge in the 12th edition of the Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship which tees off at Mission Hills Haikou resort in Hainan on April 19-21.
14-year-old Wu is one of three top-10 players from the China Golf Association’s junior rankings heading to the tropical tourism island of Hainan. The trio will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of past Chinese winners Guan Tianlang and Jin Cheng.
With a field of more than 90 players from seven different countries in action, a strong overseas challenge is also expected, headed by 16-year-old Chang Hsin-Chiao of Chinese Taipei, winner of the 13th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in Vietnam last month.
Hosted by the Hainan Golf Association, stakes will be high around the Sandbelt Trails Course at Mission Hills Haikou, with the leading players invited to compete in the Nicklaus Junior Championship, played in the USA this summer at one of the beautiful courses in Palm Beach County, Florida. Nicklaus, the record 18-time major champion and his wife Barbara have been residents of Palm Beach County for over 50 years and are big supporters of junior golf in the area.
“The Mission Hills Junior Golf Program continues to flourish with the signing of EFG Bank as an Official Partner this year and the Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship continues to be one of the highlights,” added Tenniel Chu, Group Vice-Chairman of Mission Hills. “We are very proud to be working with Mr. Nicklaus who has been a rich part of the Mission Hills story as both a course designer and a junior golf ambassador, and his tournament has played a strong part in the development of Chinese golf.”
With R&A and CGA ranking points on offer, the 2019 Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship will take place over three rounds on the Brian Curley-designed Sandbelt Trails Course in Haikou and is another important date on the Group’s award-winning junior golf schedule, sponsored by EFG Bank.
The Mission Hills Junior Golf Program provides access to the sport for tens of thousands of juniors each year, from beginners to elite amateurs, through junior tournaments, coaching, camps and clinics, school classes, free access for juniors to three of its courses and free entry into the Dr. David Chu Golf Museum at Mission Hills, the first in China.
Founded in 1992, the Mission Hills Group has invested more than six million US dollars into its Junior Golf Program; and more than 100,000 competitive rounds have been played at Mission Hills. It was voted Best Youth Development Programme in Asia in 2018 and EFG Bank was recently unveiled as an Official Partner.
ENDS
ABOUT MISSION HILLS GROUP
The Mission Hills Group – owner and operator of world-class resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan – is a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry.
The fully-integrated Mission Hills resorts span more than 40 square kilometres, including 22 championship golf courses – making it the world’s largest golf facility – plus five-star hotels, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centers, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility.
Other significant projects at Mission Hills include shopping and entertainment at Mission Hills Centreville, Bromsgrove School Mission Hills in collaboration with the 550-year-old British boarding school, co-operations with world-renowned hotel brands Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton, Mission Hills Movie Town, China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park and ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona, NBA and PGA of America.
For more information visit www.missionhillschina.com or follow Mission Hills China on social media.
ABOUT EFG INTERNATIONAL
EFG International is a global private banking group offering private banking and asset management services and is headquartered in Zurich. EFG International's group of private banking businesses operates in around 40 locations worldwide. Its registered shares (EFGN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.