2005 European Tour to start with China Open

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, February 11, 2004

2005 European Tour to start with China Open

The one million U.S. dollars VolvoChina Open announced it will open the 2005 European Tour season at Shanghai Silport Golf Club from November 25 to 28 this year.

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The one million U.S. dollars VolvoChina Open announced it will open the 2005 European Tour season at Shanghai Silport Golf Club from November 25 to 28 this year.

At the Asian PGA annual awards ceremony in Bangkok last December, the club became the first to be voted 'Best Venue' for the second time in three years by the pros on the Asian PGA Tour. Now it will be host venue for the Volvo China Open for the sixth year in a row.

"We're delighted to return to Silport," said Mel Pyatt, head ofworldwide sponsorship for Volvo, "by joining the European Tour we have a much bigger event with worldwide television exposure and weneed a venue of the highest quality. Silport has always been good but now it has matured into a top class layout with some of the best putting surfaces I've come across in Asia."

China's Zhang Lianwei won the title of the China Open last year, but he will have a tough time defending his title as he willbe up against top players from the European Tour.

However with the Volvo China Open being the opening event for the 2005 season and followed immediately by the Hong Kong Open, itlooks likely that many of the European Tour top ranked players will be keen to compete in both to get off to a good start on the Volvo Order Of Merit.

Deputy executive director of the European Tour, George O'Grady,attended last year's event at Silport and was full of praise.

"The course is great and I know our players will like it. We'realso delighted that the China's ultimate in golf, it's national open championship, will be the opening event to our 2005 season. Seeing the way China's economy is moving forward I think that the Volvo China Open could become a major fixture in future European Tour schedules," O'Grady said.

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the Volvo China Open. "A lot of the National Opens around Asia are 30 years or more old so the Volvo China Open is young in comparison," says Alistair Polson, the event's executive director. "However, it's proving itself to be the fastest tracking and a lot of that is thanks to the dynamism of China's economy."

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