Royal and Ancient join Asia mission

Mission Hills Group and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews have teamed up to launch an expanded version of the Faldo Series International Trophy, which seeks to identify and nurture the next generation of champions.

Former world number one Nick Faldo, the driving force behind the series, which is now in its 10th year, was at Mission Hills Golf Club in Guangdong province yesterday to launch the Faldo Series Asia.

The series has been sanctioned by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation and the schedule for 2006 will see events staged in China, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to the event at Fanling.

Leading amateur players from the national championships will come together to challenge for the grand final which will be staged over the Faldo-designed course at Mission Hills. The Royal and Ancient is assisting with the funding of the event.

David Chu, chairman of Mission Hills Group, said that with more than 400 million young people in China alone, Asia will be the birthplace of future world champions. 'The development of golf in the western world had already reached the ceiling, while in Asia the game is still in its infancy,' said Chu. 'With the help of the Faldo Series we will help to find the stars of tomorrow.'

Faldo said that the success of his series in Europe had led him to bring the series to Asia where the game was still young but where there is already an abundance of talent. 'Golf clubs in Asia provide the right environment for youngsters to get into the game because the clubs here tend to be built as resorts,' said Faldo. 'This means that families can spend time together at the club. This is a great way to introduce kids to the game and the best way to teach them the fundamentals of the swing. I did it the hard way by taking up the game at 14 and then spending hours on the practice range.'