Hong Kong needs to keep Open alive, says Jimenez
Defending champion wants 55-year-old event to continue with big-name players
It is tough getting old. The Hong Kong Open, which this week celebrates its 55th anniversary, will get underway in perfect conditions in Fanling on Thursday, but with a star-less field which prompted defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez to urge organisers to get their act together and “keep alive this famous tournament”.
The Spaniard has a vested interest, being one of a select few to have won the tournament three times. If he defends his title on Sunday, he will join Taiwan’s Hsieh Yong-yo as the only player to win Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event four times.
Jimenez was concerned on hearing the tournament had faced a rough few months as it failed to find a title sponsor and lost millions of dollars of funding from the government’s Mega Events Fund.
“It would be sad if this tournament is to disappear after 55 years,” said Jimenez. “This must be kept alive and I hope another title sponsor will step in soon.”
The 49-year-old Spaniard, who last year became the oldest player on the European Tour to win a tournament – the event being co-sanctioned along with the Asian Tour – said he could understand why the world’s top players had stayed away this year. Some are playing in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, and others joining the Tiger Woods World Challenge in California, both of which offer millions more in prize money.
It would be sad if this tournament is to disappear after 55 years
“It is important for this tournament to attract the big names. But it is a pity that there are not more weeks during the year and I can understand why the top players are not here. They are professionals and they have to make tough decisions. As for me, I just love coming back to Hong Kong and playing on this old-fashioned course,” Jimenez said.