The 18th staging of the Volvo China Open will head to the north eastern city of Tianjin and the award-winning Binhai Lake Golf Club from April 19 – 22, 2012.
Inaugurated in 1995 and part of The European Tour International Schedule since 2004, the Volvo China Open is country’s most revered event, and the 7,589-yards par 72 North Course, designed by Pete Dye, looks certain to offer a stern test for the players lining up for a shot at one of global golf’s fastest-growing titles.
The prize fund for the Volvo China Open will be US$3.1million with a first prize of US$500,000, while the incentive of a national open championship and exemptions to the Volvo World Match Play Championship and Volvo Golf Champions should attract a high quality field.
“By taking the Volvo China Open to the north eastern port city of Tianjin, we are continuing our strategy of making the national Open golf championship of China as accessible as possible to all parts of the country,” explained Per Ericsson, President, Volvo Event Management – Golf.
“Like The Open Championship and the US Open, to which the Volvo China Open aspires, we not only look to take the event around the country it represents, but also to the most challenging of golf courses, and the Binhai Lake Course is certainly that,” added Ericsson.
Commenting on the choice of Binhai Lake Golf Club for the 2012 Volvo China Open, course designer Pete Dye said: “It’s always a thrill and an honour to have one of your designs selected for a major Tour event, and to have the Volvo China Open come to Binhai Lake is extra special.
“It is a tough golf course, and I’m sure it will be in fantastic condition, whilst I am especially pleased for Li Hao, the club chairman and the members there, as hosting the national Open golf championship of China on their course just adds to the prestige,” concluded Dye.
Mr Li Hao, President of the Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club, has been instrumental in the development of the Volvo China Open having hosted the event previously at his Beijing CBD and Beijing Honghua Golf Clubs and he welcomed the decision to stage the 2012 event on another course from his portfolio.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to play a part in my country’s national Open golf championship once again and for Pete Dye’s design to be tested by some of the best players in the world.”
He added: “Even since Beijing Honghua hosted the event back in 2006, the Volvo China Open has grown appreciably and it is great news for the city of Tianjin that the stars of world, Asian and Chinese golf will be on show at Binhai Lake.”
One man who will be delighted with the choice of the colossal course will be defending champion, Nicolas Colsaerts; the Belgian is one of the biggest hitters on the circuit and is already looking forward to attempting to become the first man to win back-to-back Volvo China Open crowns.
“It’s great news that the 2012 Volvo China Open is to be played at the longest course in the history of the event, and hopefully I can make my length off the tee work to my advantage,” said the 28 year old from Brussels, adding, “I have enjoyed some good form since winning in Chengdu, including a third place in both the Volvo World Match Play Championship and the Barclays Scottish Open, two huge events. I know the scale of the challenge in China, a great field and a tough golf course, but it would be fantastic to make history by becoming the first player to retain his Volvo China Open title.”
Englishman Paul Casey, who reached World Number Three in 2009 and has 12 European Tour titles to his name, will be making his third appearance in the Volvo China Open. This was also confirmed during a press conference at the Sports Ministry in Beijing earlier today, when Volvo announced the new venue for the 2012 event.
"The current generation of European Tour players owe a lot to Volvo for the part it played in establishing and developing the circuit as well as helping kick-start professional golf in China,” said Casey. “I have always been made to feel most welcome and had a great time there having won two titles: the Volvo China Open and the TCL Classic. I will be going for a hat-trick of Chinese titles at Binhai Lake, Tianjin next April."
Casey continued: "I could see the potential of the Volvo China Open as a major national open championship when I won there six years ago, and judging by the top names who have played the event in recent years I fully expect to see that it will have stepped up several levels since then, helped of course by a steady uplift in the prize fund and the calibre of the golf courses hosting it.”
As the countdown to the 18th Volvo China Open continues and players’ schedules for 2012 are confirmed, a series of world-class golfers seeking to add the increasingly prestigious Volvo China Open title to their roll of honour will be unveiled.
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