Prize money for the 2007 Volvo China Open will increase to US$2 million when the 13th edition returns to its "spiritual home", the Shanghai Silport Golf Club, from April 12-15.
Organisers also announced that for the first time, an Open international qualifying offering three spots into the Championship will be staged in Hong Kong later this month while three more qualifying events offering nine places will be held for China's hopefuls.
The continued growth of the Volvo China Open, won last year by India's Jeev Milkha Singh, is a legacy of an extended partnership between Volvo and the China Golf Association who recently extended their long-running partnership until 2015.
Volvo Event Management President and CEO Mel Pyatt said they are maintaining their vision and mission to promote golf in China through the staging of its national Open.
"Twelve years ago, we placed our faith firmly in the future of Chinese golf by becoming the first international corporation to sponsor the game here and established the Volvo China Open.
"We have succeeded in maintaining a sustainable growth for the Open which has grown into one of the major events on the international calendar. With a record prize fund of US$2 million this year, this signifies a massive 500 per cent growth since our inaugural event was held in 1995," said Pyatt.
He added that pre-qualifying is an essential component of the Volvo China Open as it will open the door to many aspiring Chinese golfers, men and women, to qualify for their national Championship.
The qualifiers will be held in Dongguan Harbour Plaza Golf Club (March 6-7), Discovery Bay Golf Club, Hong Kong (March 13-14), Shanghai Silport Golf Club (March 20-21) and Beijing CBD International Golf Club (April 3-4).
Pyatt said: "Being the Open Championship of China, we hope that every Chinese youngster will aspire to win the Championship. Through the qualifying events, we are providing them the first step to achieve this dream.
"Zhang Lian-wei and Cheng Jun have won the event previously and hopefully many more Chinese players will savour victory in their home Open. We are certainly giving them every encouragement and opportunity to achieve this goal.
"The creation of an international Open qualifying for the first time this year will also help us move closer towards our ambition of making the Volvo China Open a truly Open championship."
Richtone Worldwide Managing Director Alistair Polson, whose company is the event promoter, said that they were looking forward to returning to Shanghai Silport, which hosted the event with great success from 1999 to 2004.
"Shanghai Silport has been a fantastic partner over the years and have been instrumental in the growth of the Volvo China Open. Its championship course and the commitment from the management and staff are vital ingredients in the event's continued success and it was only a matter of time that the championship returned to what Mel Pyatt calls our spiritual home," said Polson.
Following the staging of the 13th edition in 2007, the Volvo China Open will return to the Beijing CBD International Golf Club in 2008 to commemorate the Olympic Games which will be held in the Chinese capital.
The Volvo China Open will once again be tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and China Golf Association.
