(L-R) Kenneth Lam, Vice President, Hong Kong Golf Association; Liu Jianguo, CEO, Honma Golf; Martin Hadaway, Captain, Hong Kong Golf Club; Vicky Jones, Championship Director, European Tour.
HONMA will be the title sponsor of the newly named Honma Hong Kong Open, when the US$ 2 million purse tournament returns to the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling from November 22-25.
The Japanese golf equipment manufacturer takes on the sponsorship of one of Asia’s most prestigious golf tournaments as HONMA and the Hong Kong Open look to celebrate their respective 60th year anniversaries.
Established in Sakata, Japan in 1959, HONMA is one of the world’s leading premium golf brands, synonymous with intricate craftsmanship, dedication to performance excellence and exceptional product quality. Its renowned ‘Made in Japan, SAKATA’ stamp is recognised by golfers around the world.
Dating back to the same year, the Hong Kong Open is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event and along with the Masters Tournament at Augusta National and the Omega European Masters at Crans-Montana, is the only professional golf tournament to have been held at the same venue for more than 55 consecutive years.
The tournament, which was won in thrilling fashion by Wade Ormsby of Australia last November, will continue to be played on the Hong Kong Golf Club’s composite Championship Course in Fanling, and will be tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association.
The 2018 edition of the Honma Hong Kong Open presents both the Hong Kong Open and HONMA with an opportunity to celebrate each other’s history and provide a world-class sporting spectacle for the people of Hong Kong and golf fans around the world, as Liu Jianguo, Chairman, HONMA explained:
“HONMA is proud to be named title sponsor of the Honma Hong Kong Open for the 2018 edition. HONMA and the Hong Kong Open are two unique organisations with a great history. We are excited about the increasing popularity of golf in Asia, with the number of golf fans in Asia growing by some 34% over the past five years. We look forward to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the tournament and the founding of HONMA and to working together with the Hong Kong Golf Club to make this year’s event a very special occasion in the tournament’s esteemed history.”
Martin Hadaway, Captain of Hong Kong Golf Club said, “The Hong Kong Golf Club is pleased to welcome HONMA to the Hong Kong Open. 2018 promises to be a very special year in the history of the tournament as the Hong Kong Golf Club celebrates 60 years of bringing the best golfers in the world to Hong Kong to compete in this prestigious tournament. We share HONMA’s passion for the game and look forward to celebrating this important milestone with them. Over the last two years the tournament has made significant steps to make the Hong Kong Open accessible to everyone in Hong Kong with free access on Thursday and Friday continuing in 2018.”
Yoshihiro Nishi, President of the Hong Kong Golf Association, added, “We welcome HONMA to the golf community in Hong Kong. Their sponsorship of the 2018 Honma Hong Kong Open is testament to their reputation as one of the leading brands in the golf industry and we look forward to celebrating the 60th anniversary of both organisations in November this year. We thank them for their support of the tournament, while also extending our thanks to our partners at the European Tour and the Asian Tour for their continued support of this wonderful event.”
Ben Cowen, the European Tour’s Director of International Policy, said: “We congratulate the Hong Kong Golf Club and HONMA on their 60th year anniversaries and we look forward to another exciting edition of the Honma Hong Kong Open.
“Last year’s Hong Kong Open marked the start of the European Tour’s 2018 Race to Dubai and it’s fitting that a tournament of this stature continues to be the curtain raiser for the new season. We look forward to once again working with our sanctioning partners, the Asian Tour and the Hong Kong Golf Association, to staging another world-class event.”
The Honma Hong Kong Open will be staged at Hong Kong Golf Club from November 22-25, 2018 and marks the start of the European Tour’s 2019 Race to Dubai, while offering valuable season-ending points for the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit. For more information see www.honmahkopen.com
The Honma Hong Kong Open has also been recognized as an “M” Mark event to help enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolizing an intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.
–ENDS–
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Wentworth Drive | Virginia Water | Surrey | GU25 4LX | UNITED KINGDOM
Tel : +44 (0)1344 840400
Email : media@europeantour.com
Twitter: @EuropeanTour
Facebook: European Tour
Web: www.europeantour.com
THE EUROPEAN TOUR – CELEBRATING GOLF. WORLDWIDE.
About The European Tour
The European Tour celebrates men’s professional golf on a global stage. In 2018, the European Tour International Schedule will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 30 countries, including eight Rolex Series events, all part of the Race to Dubai.
Celebrating the global connectivity of the European Tour and Dubai, the Race to Dubai is a season-long competition to crown the European Tour’s Number One player, an honour which in 2017 went to England’s Tommy Fleetwood for the first time, and which, since 2009, has also been achieved three times by Rory McIlroy, twice by Henrik Stenson, and once each by Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald.
Since its formation in 1972, the European Tour has witnessed 27 Members celebrate a total of 53 Major Championship titles between them, enjoyed ten Members attaining the pinnacle of World Number One and has celebrated its diversity as players from 36 different countries have won on the Tour.
The European Tour also manages the Challenge Tour, which featured 27 tournaments in 21 countries in 2017, and the Senior Tour, which featured 16 tournaments in 12 countries in 2017 and which, from the 2018 season onwards, will be known as the Staysure Tour. It is also the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe, the body which, alongside the PGA of America, administers golf’s greatest team contest, The Ryder Cup. In 2018, the 42nd staging of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States of America will take place at Le Golf National, France, from September 28-30.
The European Tour broadcasts live coverage of its tournaments to more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. It also enjoys the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with Rolex, BMW, Emirates and Titleist as Official Partners.
