Volvo China Open returns to Asian Tour as International Series event; Vu added to stellar field for Aramco Team Series
- The Open will be played at Shenzhen’s Hidden Grace Golf Club from November 2nd to 5th
- World No 2 and double major winner Lilia Vu added to field for ATS event in Hong Kong next month
The Volvo China Open will return in November as the eighth stop in the International Series.
Taking place at Shenzhen’s Hidden Grace Golf Club the week before the Hong Kong Open, the China tournament completes the 10 elevated events planned for this season.
It will be the first time the Asian Tour has been to mainland China since 2019, when it co-sanctioned the tournament with the then European Tour. During Covid the event took place in 2020 and 2021 as part of the domestic tour, when it was won by Zhang Huilin and Zhang Jin, respectively.
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The longest running professional golf tournament on the mainland, the Open is also scheduled to be played in May next year as part of the DP World Tour’s season.
“The Volvo China Open is a pioneering event that has made outstanding contributions to the development of golf in our country,” Zhang Xiaoning, president of the China Golf Association,” said.
“This year will be no exception as the tournament has been upgraded to a stop on the International Series, and it will play a key role in preparations for the Paris Olympics after the Hangzhou Asian Games which we are now focusing on.”
The next stop in the series is in Singapore during the first week in October, while the final event of the year will be in Indonesia, the week after the Hong Kong Open, which runs from November 9th to 12th.
With the winner of the series order of merit earning a spot with LIV Golf, and the next 31 players on the list expected to get places at a promotions event later this year, there is plenty to play for aside from the US$1.5 million in prize money.
After last month’s St Andrews Bay Championship in Scotland, American Andy Ogletree has a large lead at the top, almost US$500,000 ahead of Japan’s Takumi Kanaya in second, with Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, Australian Wade Ormsby and Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul rounding out the top five.
While the best golfers in the region are in Singapore, some of the world’s best women will be in Hong Kong for the fourth Aramco Team Series event of the year.
World No 2 Lilia Vu is the latest to be added to the field for the event, which takes place from October 6th to 8th at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling.
Already a double major winner this season, having triumphed at the Chevron Championship and AIG Women’s Open, it will be the first time Vu has played in an ATS event.
“I am thrilled to be part of the Aramco Team Series and have the chance to compete in Asia again,” said the American, who won the Honda LPGA Thailand in February.
“The Aramco Team Series has a strong reputation among the players with the unique team format and major-like staging, both of which I’m looking forward to. I’m excited to compete alongside some of the world’s best in Hong Kong, and I hope to add to my victories in 2023.”
