(Hong Kong, 19 Sept 2011) In just over a month, the first Shanghai Masters Champion will be crowned. The "Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters 2011" winner will take home a cheque for US$2 million, the largest prize money in the history of golf in China. Between the 27th-30th October, the Lake Malaren Golf Club will play host to 30 of the world‟s top Chinese and international golfers.
At a press conference in Hong Kong, organizers of the tournament unveiled the new golf event. The tournament‟s major sponsor and host, Mr. Shi Jian (also Chairman of SRE Group and subsidiary China New Town Development) said, "We are proud to bring this world-class event to Lake Malaren. The line-up of players is incredible. I‟m sure their performance will be breath-taking. This will truly be another amazing Golf event for Shanghai and China. We‟ve spared no resources and effort in hosting this tournament, which is important for us to promote Chinese golf. "Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters 2011" is our contribution to the promotion of golf as an international sport, in partnership with CCTV-IMG. We‟re thrilled at the prospect of the upcoming tournament."
A glimpse into the star-studded list of players in the tournament reveals some household names in golf: current PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, 2010 PGA order of merit and prize money winner Jim Furyk, former British Open winner and PGA Champion John Daly, two-time winner of the U.S. Open and former PGA Champion, Retief Goosen, 2010 Australian order of merit winner, Geoff Ogilvy, four-time winner of the European Tour Ian Poulter, fellow Englishman and five-time European Tour winner Paul Casey, three-time PGA Champion Hunter Mahan and one-time Asian Tour winner Kevin Na. There will also be four of Korea‟s finest: PGA Tour regulars Anthony Kim and world #16 KJ Choi, 2008 PGA champion Y.E. Yang and Noh Seung Yul, 2010 Asian order of merit winner who also topped the 2010 Asian Tour prize money list. Organisers also hinted they will add further big names to this star studded field in the next few days.
"As the event‟s organizers, we have great faith in this event and our partnership with SRE Group, China New Town Development and the Baoshan District Government. As you can see from the strength of the field assembled so far this will be a showcase of international golf talent and illustrates our commitment to promoting the sport in China. On our part, we‟ll utilize our broad media platform and resources to bring the excitement of a golf tournament to the people in Shanghai. This tournament also signifies an important milestone in Chinese golf development and we‟d like to thank the CGA for all their support in sanctioning this event" said tournament director Mr. Rob James.
- Cont'd - Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters 2011 19 September 2011 | Page 2
The venue of the tournament, Shanghai Lake Malaren Golf Club, is located at Shanghai‟s North European Luo Dian New Town in Baoshan District, amidst a scenic setting at Lake Malaren. The North European Luo Dian New Town is the new flagship development by SRE Group and China New Town Development and is approaching completion after a decade-long planning and development. World-renowned golf course designer Jack Nicklaus has re-designed the 36-hole golf course in preparation of the tournament.
China‟s top golfer, Mr. Zhang Lianwei, is appointed ambassador for the tournament. "This is a great opportunity for Chinese golfers to interact with the world‟s finest players. This will certainly become one of the world‟s best golfing events. I am keen to see its development into China‟s „major‟ in future," Mr. Zhang said at the briefing.
Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters is an international professional men‟s golf tournament organized by Baoshan District government, SRE Group, China New Town Development Co. Ltd. and CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company, with the support of General Administration of Sport of China, the Shanghai Government, China Golf Association (CGA) and Shanghai Sports Association. The tournament will take place on 24 to 30 October 2011 at the Shanghai Lake Malaren Golf Club.
The tournament website: www.shanghaimasters.com.cn.
Designated organizations such as City Line, Westminster Travel, and Golf007 are responsible for ticketing arrangements in Hong Kong. Please refer to newspaper advertisements in Hong Kong today.
- End –
For further information, please contact:
iPR Ogilvy LTD.
Canny Lo / Athena Chan / Janis Lai / Caesar Yuen
Tel: (852) 3170 6753 / 3920 7645 / 2169 0646 / 3920 7678
Fax: (852) 3170 6606
Email: canny.lo@iprogilvy.com / athena.chan@iprogilvy.com / janis.lai@iprogilvy.com / caesar.yuen@iprogilvy.com Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters 2011 19 September 2011 | Page 3
SRE Group
SRE Group Ltd. is a well-known integrated property developer in Shanghai. Established in 1993, it was listed separately on the Main Board of SEHK in 1999, stock code: 1207. The real estate brand of "Oasis Garden", "Richgate", "Skyway" and "Albany" enjoys good reputation both domestically and abroad. In 2003, SRE was named one of the Top 50 Property Developers of Shanghai by SRETA. In 2005, SRE was again named as one of the Top 10 Real Estate Enterprises of the Real Estate of Shanghai with an experience of 18 Years by SRETA.
CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company
CCTV-IMG Sports Management Company is a joint venture established by CCTV and International Management Group (IMG), aiming to bring China‟s traditional sports events and culture to the international market. CCTV-IMG specializes in international sports management and marketing, and is developing into an influential international elite sports events marketing and management company. As such, CCTV-IMG will help to internationalize China‟s sports industry.
China New Town Development
China New Town is a large scale private new town developer in China with sound track history. The Company was listed on The Singapore Exchange in 2007, and subsequently on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2010, stock code: 1278. The Company focuses on planning and developing large-scale new town projects in the suburbs of some of PRC‟s largest cities, with each current project covering site area of at least 36 sq. km. Currently, the Company is engaged in three new town projects: Shanghai North European Luodian New Town Project, Wuxi Hongshan New Town Project and Shenyang Lixiang New Town Project.
Lake Malaren
Lake Malaren Golf Course is situated in China‟s financial and commercial centre at Baoshan District‟s North European Luo Dian New Town in Northern part of Shanghai City, 28 km away from the People‟s Square. The golf course was designed by world-esteemed American designer Peter Thompson in 2003 and 2004. The 36-hole golf course spans nearly 3,400 acres is up to international professional tournament standards, and is the only 36-hole USGA standard golf course with 5-star hotel facilities (Lake Malaren Crowne Plaza Hotel) in Shanghai. In anticipation of the 2011-2015 tournament, influential golf course designer Jack Nicklaus was invited to redesign and upgrade the golf course.