Courtesy of China Daily
The inaugural Lake Malaren Masters tournament, in the city of Shanghai, has all the ingredients anyone would want for a leading international golf event – $5 million worth of prizes ($2 million for the champion), an all-star lineup, and a challenging course.
The real goal of this tournament is to turn it into an annual, men’s professional golf event, and the organizers have invited top international and domestic players.
The matches are scheduled for October 27 to 30, a week before the WGC-HSBC Champions match.
The organizers announced that, in addition to eight Chinese players, the current world number two, Lee Westwood, and world number three and US Open Champion, Rory Mcilroy will head the overseas challenge.
In addition, there will be the Briton Ian Poulter, triple major winner Padraig Harrington, from Ireland, and Scotland’s victorious Ryder Cup captain and European Tour legend Colin Montgomerie in the all-star lineup.
The 38-year old Briton Westwood is one of the most experienced and talented players of his generation and beat Tiger Woods for the number one position last October.
The up-and-coming star, Rory Mcilroy, from Northern Ireland is also someone to watch. At only 22, he is the youngest player to have won the US Open (in June of this year) since Bobby Jones, in 1923.
Poulter has ranked as high as number five in the world and most recently was a member of the successful European team, captained by Montgomerie, which won the Ryder Cup. He most recently won the Volvo World Match Play Championship, in May.
The field for this month’s Shanghai Masters will also include 2011 US Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel, PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, South African Louis Oosthuizen, and Englishmen Paul Casey.
The Lake Malaren golf course is located in Shanghai’s Luo Dian North European New Town and was designed by America’s Jack Nicklaus and his Nicklaus Design team. It covers 558 acres with a dramatic layout that has numerous elevation changes and valleys.
Both the Lake Malaren course and the 2011 Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters are backed by the SRE Group, a local company that is listed in Hong Kong. It has developed various Shanghai properties such as Rich Gate SeaView, Cedar Villa Original, and the Bairun Project.
The 72-hole tournament is organized by the General Administration of Sports’ Multi-ball Games Administration Center, the China Golf Association and Sports Council, the Shanghai Sports Administration, the Baoshan District government, the SRE Group, China New Town Development Co Ltd, and CCTV-IMG.
Your Privacy Choice