DID YOU KNOW – HONG KONG OPEN
• The 2014 Hong Kong Open will be the 56th staging of the event. The tournament was first played in 1959 and won by Lu Liang-huan and is the longest running sporting event in Hong Kong.
• The Hong Kong Open is being played for a second time on the 2014 European Tour International Schedule.. The first time was in December 2013, when Miguel Angel Jiménez beat Stuart Manley and Prom Meesawat in a play-off.
• This will be the second time the Hong Kong Open has been played twice in the same European Tour season. The first was the 2009 season. Lin Wen-tang won firstly in November 2008, followed by Grégory Bourdy in November 2009.
• In the first playing of the Hong Kong Open this season, Miguel Angel Jiménez created history by becoming the oldest winner in European Tour history, aged 49 years and 337 days. He since when onto become the first 50 year old to win, at the 2014 Open de Espaňa, aged 50 years and 133 days.
• Miguel Angel Jiménez won the title for the fourth time last December, following his triumphs of 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2014 (Dec 13). His latest win equalled the record of four wins by Hsieh Yung-yo (1963-64, 75, 77), for most wins in the event.
• Should Miguel Angel Jiménez win the event for a fifth time he would become just the fourth player in European Tour history to win the same official event five times. He would follow Tiger Woods, Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer.
• Should Miguel Angel Jiménez win the Hong Kong Open for a third year in a row, he would become just the sixth player in European Tour history to win the same official event three years in succession. He would follow: Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
• The event has a wonderfully rich history of former winners, including nine Major Champions, who have won 29 Major Championships between them. They are: Peter Thomson (1960, 65, 67), Kel Nagle (1961), Orville Moody (1971), Greg Norman (1979, 83), Ian Woosnam (1987), Bernhard Langer (1991), Tom Watson (1992), José Maria Olazábal (2002), Padraig Harrington (2004) and Rory McIlroy (2011).
• The previous 55 editions of the Hong Kong Open have produced 44 different champions from 17 different countries.
• History was created in the 2003 Hong Kong Open when Shih-kai Lo became the then youngest player to compete in a European Tour event, aged just 13 and 280 days, beating the then record set by Sergio Garcia of 15 and 45 days in the 1995 Turespaña Open Mediterrania. Land of Valencia.
• History was also created in the 2009 Hong Kong Open (played in November 2008), when Jason Hak became the then youngest player to make a cut in a European Tour event, aged 14 and 304 days. He beat the then previous record of Garcia in the aforementioned tournament.
