DID YOU KNOW – VOLVO CHINA OPEN
• Defending champion, Li Haotong will be aiming to become the first player to successfully defend the Volvo China Open, after claiming the trophy in 2016.
• With Ashun Wu winning the event in 2015 and Li Haotong a year later, European Tour history was made with two different Chinese players winning the same tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time.
• The Volvo China Open will be played for the 23rd time, having first been contested in 1995, won by Raul Fretes at the Beijing International Golf Club.
• In the 22 previous stagings of the Volvo China Open there have been 22 different winners, from 14 different countries. China have won the most times with four. Then come Australia and England with three apiece. The host nation’s wins were by Chen Jun (1997), Zhang Lian-wei (2003), Ashun Wu (2015) and Li Haotong (2016).
• Venue for the 2017 Volvo China Open is the Topwin Golf and Country Club. The course also played hosted to the tournament in 2016.
• The Volvo China Open had the distinction of being the first European Tour event to be played twice in the same season. This occurred in the 2006 season, firstly played in November 2005, won by Paul Casey and then by Jeev Milkha Singh in April 2006.
• European Tour history was made at the 2013 Volvo China Open. Ye Wo-cheng became the youngest player to compete in a European Tour event, aged just 12 years and 242 days. He broke the record of Guan Tian-lang, who was 13 years and 177 days in this event in 2012.
• A man with fond memories of the Volvo China Open is Nicolas Colaserts. The Belgian claimed his maiden Tour title in this event in 2011. He came very close to making a successful defence in 2012, finishing second. In 2010 he also finished in the top ten, claiming a tie for eighth. Colsaerts went onto win his second title in another Volvo-sponsored tournament, this time the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship. Should he win this week be would become the first player in European Tour history to win his first three European Tour events with the same title sponsor.
• Anthony Wall will have reason to celebrate this week. The 41 year old will be competing in his 500th official European Tour event. He becomes the 11th Englishman in European Tour history to reach this milestone.
• This tournament is Volvo’s longest continuous sponsorship of a professional event, having first put their name to China’s national open in 1995, a span of 23 consecutive seasons. This beats the 21 years Volvo sponsored the Volvo Masters, between 1988-2008 inclusive.
• The 2017 season sees Volvo’s 31st consecutive year of European Tour sponsorship. The first event was the 1987 Belgian Open.
