(6 September 2007 – Crans-Montana (Switzerland)) Mission Hills Golf Club, China, the World’s No.1 golf club is pleased to announce that it has teamed up with Swiss luxury watchmaker OMEGA and the International Federation of PGA Tours and assumed the role of host venue for the World Cup of Golf for the next 12 years and beyond.
Set for 22-25 November, the first edition of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup inaugurates a new platform for one of golf’s most prestigious events and brings the return to active service of the historic World Cup trophy, to be inscribed once again with the names of two great players representing their native country.
Dr. David Chu, Chairman of Mission Hills Group, Mr. George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European PGA Tour and Mr. Stephen Urquhart, President of Omega, presided over the press conference held today in Crans-Montana ahead of the 2007 OMEGA European Masters to launch the official Omega Mission Hills World Cup web site and introduce the new corporate logo of the tournament to the press.
Mission Hills’ Chairman Dr. David Chu remarking on today’s proceedings said, “Mission Hills’ is very proud to be returning the World Cup of Golf to China for the next 12 years and beyond with title sponsor Omega. As the fastest growing economy in the world, golf in China is entering a new and exciting era; Mission Hills’ close collaboration with the Federation Tours and Omega thus seeks to consistently raise golf awareness and participation levels in the game in China.”
Omega President Mr. Stephen Urquhart following the presentation of the official watch of the World Cup, the Double Eagle Co-Axial Chronograph “Omega Mission Hills World Cup” said, “The Omega Mission Hills World Cup offers today’s most exciting players a chance to represent their native countries in one of golf’s most prestigious international events. Omega is proud to take up the World Cup tradition of International Goodwill through Golf and to support the widespread and growing interest in the sport in China. And we’re absolutely delighted to see the World Cup trophy return to its rightful place of honour as one of golf’s greatest prizes.”
The Omega Mission Hills World Cup will see two-man teams from 28 different countries competing to have their names and that of their country inscribed on the historic trophy, which already bears the names of such legendary winning partnerships as Ben Hogan and Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The eighteen leading countries automatically eligible to compete in the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup were announced today; they will have until the 14th of September to confirm their participation; a further 10 countries will earn their spots via the qualifying events held in South America and Asia at the end of September. The winning team in 2007 will share the first prize of US$1.65 million, from a total purse amounting to US$5 million
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Pictured left to right is Dr Chu, Chairman of Mission Hills Group, Mr. George O’Grady (Chief Executive PGA European Tour), Mr. Stephen Urquhart (President of Omega) and Mr. Henrique Lavie (Commissioner Tour de las Americas).
ABOUT Omega
The prestige watch manufacturer Omega was founded in Switzerland in 1848 and since then has continually set the pace in the many fields of watchmaking, from sports timekeeping and design awards to watches for professional use in space or underwater. Omega is closely associated with a world of achievements including the conquest of space, timekeeping at 22 Olympic Games and numerous precision records as well as the launch in 1999 of the revolutionary Co-Axial calibre, one of the 20th century’s major innovations in mechanical watchmaking designed with the English master watchmaker George Daniels. Omega will be Official Timekeeper for the Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
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ABOUT MISSION HILLS GOLF CLUB, CHINA
Founded in 1994, Mission Hills Golf Club, China, seeks to create ‘International Goodwill through Golf.’ The Club occupies over 15 square kilometres of land and boasts 12 signature courses designed by golf legends from five different continents.
The Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, José Maria Olazábal, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo, Zhang Lian-Wei, David Leadbetter, Greg Norman, Jumbo Ozaki, Vijay Singh, Annika Sorenstam and David Duval. Each course is reflective of the designers’ style, offering unique risk / reward challenges to the player. As a complete golf destination, the Club houses a five star hotel and world class spa and was voted Best Golf Resort in Asia by readers of Asian Golf Monthly in 2006 and Golf Resort of the Year in the Rest of the World category in 2005 by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).
In May 2004, the Club was accredited by the Guinness World RecordsTM as the World’s Largest Golf Facility, making a name for itself in the world of premier golf through its exceptional ability to deliver an unsurpassed level of service excellence. Mission Hills is the proud venue of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup for the next consecutive twelve years (2007 – 2018).
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL GOLF ASSOCIATION
Established by Canadian industrialist John Jay Hopkins in 1953, the International Golf Association has pursued the mission of "International Goodwill through Golf" for over fifty years. As the owner of the World Cup name, IGA has sanctioned the world's most prestigious international team golf competition throughout six decades. IGA is governed by its Board of Directors, comprised by Chairman Jonathan S. Linen (Advisor to the Chairman, American Express), Deane R. Beman (Former PGA TOUR Commissioner), J. B. McCoy (Retired Chairman, Bank One Corporation) and Bill Souders (Former Executive Vice-President and Director, Xerox Corporation).
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ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PGA TOURS
The International Federation of PGA Tours, formed in 1996, was created to enhance the competitive structure of professional golf worldwide while preserving the traditions and strengths of the six member Tours. The member Tours are the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour.
The Canadian Tour is named an Associate Member of the Federation. Three major initiatives were outlined: the formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours; joint sanctioning by the members of the International Federation of PGA Tours of significant competitions for the game's top players; and a structure for a generally accepted worldwide ranking system.
For further information, contact:
Communications Division
The European Tour
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 840400
Fax: +44 (0) 1344 840444
Email: media@europeantour.com
James Cramer
PGA TOUR
Tel: +1 904 273 3293
Fax: +1 904 273 3582
Email: jcramer@pgatourhq.com
Tracey Robertson
Communications Department
Mission Hills Golf Club
Tel: +86 755 2802 0888 Ext: 36030
Fax: +86 755 2802 5751
Email: traceyrobertson@missionhillsgroup.com
OMEGA
OMEGA International Press Office
Tel: +41 (0) 32 343 92 11
Fax: +41 (0) 32 343 97 15
Email: press@omega.ch |