3 February 2007, Shenzhen, China:  Nakarin Ratanakul from Thailand leads the Faldo Series Asia grand final at Mission Hills Golf Club after day one following a stunning five under par round of 67.

Starting from the 10th tee on the Faldo course, 18-year-old Ratanakul eagled the par-5 18th to reach the turn at two under par; he then produced a faultless back nine that included three birdies on his way to a 67.

Hsieh Yu Ling from Chinese Taipei – only 14-years-old – leads the girls and is one off the overall lead after a brilliant 68.  After a level par front nine, Hsieh birdied holes 11, 12 and 13, and then 16, to finish on four under par.

Supported by Mission Hills, The R&A and UBS, the 54-hole Faldo Series Asia grand final has brought together 60 leading young golfers from across Asia, boys and girls aged 11 to 21, plus six invitees from the Faldo Series grand final in Europe.  Results will count towards The R&A’s World Amateur Ranking; the leading Asian finalists, boys and girls, will be invited to compete in the Faldo Series grand final in Europe; and, courtesy of a new partnership with the Asian Tour, the leading boy will play in the Volvo Masters of Asia.

Six-time Major winner Faldo will arrive tomorrow [Sunday] to spend time with the finalists and pass on his advice and experience.  He will also play with the winners the day after the final round.  Other experts have also been educating the finalists during the last few days through a series of player-seminars.

Local school-children will be attending the final round of the Faldo Series Asia grand final on Monday [5 February]; they will watch the finalists in action and then attend a clinic with Faldo in a bid by the golfing legend to simultaneously create access to the game for a younger audience.

Leading scores after round 1:  67 – Nakarin RATANAKUL, Thailand (Boys U18); 68 – HSIEH Yu Ling, Chinese Taipei (Girls U16); 70 – Ben EVANS, England (Boys U21); 71 – Anirban LAHIRI, India (Boys U21).  Selected others:  74 – Ainil Johani BAKAR, Malaysia (Girls U18)

For information on the Faldo Series Asia visit www.nickfaldo.com

See full list of scores attached.  For further press information and images, please contact:

Tom Phillips                                      Winky Wong
Faldo Series Asia                              Mission Hills Group
Office: +852 2819 3364                              Office: + 852 2867 9142
Mobile: +852 9447 8415                                   Mobile: +852 9097 0799
Email: tphillips@nickfaldo.com                          Email: winkywong@missionhillsgroup.com

Note to editors:

About the Faldo Series Asia
Nick Faldo launched the Faldo Series Asia in January 2006 to bring opportunities to young people in Asia through golf and to help identify and nurture the region’s next generation of champions.

The Faldo Series Asia features an annual schedule of Faldo Series championships in different territories across the region.  Over 60 players qualify for the Faldo Series Asia grand final, hosted by the six-time Major winner on the Faldo course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China.

Combining experience with education, Faldo Series Asia tournaments give talented young golfers, male and female aged 11 to 21, the chance to benefit from top-level competition under strict tournament conditions and receive expert advice from guest speakers on golf related topics.  Simultaneously younger children gain access to golf at the tournaments through a programme of grass-roots activities and the chance to watch the competitors in action.

Part of The Faldo Trust for Tomorrow’s Champions (Asia) Limited, the Faldo Series Asia is underwritten by Faldo and supported by Mission Hills, The R&A and UBS.  It is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC).

About Mission Hills Golf Club, China
Founded in 1994 and located just 30 minutes drive from Hong Kong border, Mission Hills is the World’s No. 1 Golf Club, accredited by the Guinness World Records™, with 12 signature designers’ courses, each designed by golf legends from the five continents: Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Jose Maria Olazabal, David Duval, David Leadbetter, Jumbo Ozaki, Pete Dye and Zhang LianWei.  It is an exclusive gated residential community housing a world-class five-star hotel, spa and country club with the largest tennis facility in Asia.  Mission Hills is also an infrastructure that spreads over 15 square kilometres of land and is the first home to the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in China.

Mission Hills has hosted many golf competitions and exhibition events, and is the proud venue for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup from November 2007 until 2018, for 12 consecutive years.

Hosting major tournaments has been a regular activity at Mission Hills and it all started with the first international golf tournament in China back in 1995, the 41st World Cup of Golf; followed by the Tiger Woods China Challenge in 2001 and the first two editions of the Dynasty Cup in 2003 and 2005.  The Club is also the venue for the Mission Hills Asia Pacific Open Amateur Championship for the next 10 years and the “Home of the Faldo Series Asia.”  Mission Hills was recently voted Golf Resort of the Year for the Rest of the World category by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).

About The R&A
The R&A is golf’s world rules and development body and organiser of The Open Championship.  It operates with the consent of more than 125 national and international, amateur and professional organisations, from over 110 countries and on behalf of an estimated 28 million golfers in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and The Americas (outside the USA and Mexico).  The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the game’s governing body in the United States and Mexico.

About UBS
UBS’s appointment as a ‘Major Partner’ of the Faldo Series Asia marks the bank’s commitment to helping the next generation of Asia Pacific golfing stars reach their potential and is the latest addition to its unrivalled stable of elite golfing properties in Asia.

UBS is one of golf’s most significant pan-regional sponsors of golf in Asia Pacific with a portfolio that includes the flagship UBS Hong Kong Open, the UBS Japan Golf Tour Championship at Shishido Hills, the Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit and the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai, where it is the ‘Official Financial Services Provider’.

In addition, UBS is title sponsor of The UBS Golf Club, a leading golf television show broadcast throughout Asia on the ESPN STAR Sports network and The Golf Channel Japan in English, Mandarin and Japanese, according to territory.

Internationally, UBS has partnerships with THE PLAYERS Championship and the Bay Hill Invitational on the US PGA Tour and the women’s Evian Masters in Europe.

UBS is one of the world’s leading financial firms, serving a discerning global client base. It combines financial strength with an international culture, embraces change, and, as an integrated firm, creates added value for clients by drawing on the combined resources and expertise of all its businesses.

UBS is the world’s largest wealth manager, a top-tier investment banking and securities firm and one of the largest global asset managers. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centres worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, with 38% of its employees working in the Americas, 38% in Switzerland, 16% in Europe and 8% in the Asia Pacific time zone. UBS’s financial businesses employ more than 70,000 people around the world.  Its shares are listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).