Volvo China Open

Summary

The Volvo China Open is a men's golf tournament that has been held annually in China since 1995. The event is organised by the China Golf Association and was co-sanctioned by the European Tour from 2004 until 2019. It has also featured as part of the Asian Tour, the OneAsia Tour, the China Tour and the Asia Golf Circuit.

Volvo China Open
Tournament information
LocationShenzhen, China
Established1995
Course(s)Hidden Grace Golf Club
Par72
Length7,147 yards (6,535 m)
Tour(s)European Tour
Asian Tour
China Tour
Asia Golf Circuit
OneAsia Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$1,500,000
Month playedOctober
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 Nicolas Colsaerts (2011)
To par−24 as above
Current champion
Thailand Sarit Suwannarut
Location map
Hidden Grace GC is located in China
Hidden Grace GC
Hidden Grace GC
Location in China

History edit

The first event was played in 1995 as the China Open and featured on the Asia Golf Circuit. Raúl Fretes was the inaugural champion. The following year the event moved to the Asian Tour's schedule and continued to through 2008. The event joined the European Tour in 2004. Stephen Dodd won the first edition on the European Tour.[1]

Changes occurred in 2009 with the announcement of the OneAsia Tour, a new golf tour set up by the China Golf Association in partnership with the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Japan Golf Tour, the Korean PGA and the Korean Golf Association. Having been involved in the early stages, the Asian Tour withdrew from the OneAsia Tour. As a result, four events, the Volvo China Open, Pine Valley Beijing Open, Korea Open and Midea China Classic were removed from the schedule and subsequently became the founding events of the new tour. In addition, the Asian Tour stated that they would not allow their members to play in those events unless already qualified via membership of the European Tour, promising stiff penalties for those that ignored this ruling.[2][3]

In 2011, Nicolas Colsaerts broke the tournament scoring record, shooting an aggregate of 264 (24 under par). He won by four shots.[4]

Wu Ashun won the 2015 event by one shot over David Howell. He made history as he became the first Chinese player to win a European Tour event on home soil.[5] Li Haotong won the event the following year, shooting a final-round 64 to win by three shots. He also became the second successive winner on home soil.[6]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 events were not sanctioned by the European Tour and proceeded as sole-sanctioned China Tour events.[7][8][9] Zhang Jin won the 2021 event by making birdie at the final hole to beat Li Haotong by one shot.[10] The 2022 event was scheduled to take place at the end of April on the European Tour but was postponed as restrictions due to the pandemic persisted in China,[11] and ultimately not played. In 2023, it returned to the Asian Tour schedule as part of the International Series, and in 2024 will return to the European Tour.[12]

Venues edit

The following venues have been used since the founding of the Volvo China Open in 1995.

Venue Location First Last Times
Beijing International Golf Club Beijing 1995 1997 3
Shanghai Sun Island International Club Shanghai 1998 1998 1
Shanghai Silport Golf Club Shanghai 1999 2007 7
Shenzhen Golf Club Shenzhen 2005 2005 1
Beijing Honghua International Golf Club Beijing 2006 2006 1
Beijing CBD International Golf Club Beijing 2008 2009 2
Suzhou Jinji Lake International Golf Club Jiangsu 2010 2010 1
Luxehills International Country Club Sichuan 2011 2011 1
Binhai Lake Golf Club Tianjin 2012 2013 2
Hidden Grace Golf Club (formerly Genzon Golf Club)[13] Shenzhen 2014 2023 4
Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club Shanghai 2015 2015 1
Topwin Golf and Country Club Beijing 2016 2018 3

Winners edit

Year Tour(s)[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Venue
2023 ASA, CHN   Sarit Suwannarut 269 −19 6 strokes   Chen Guxin
  Kho Taichi
Hidden Grace
2022 EUR No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 CHN, EUR[b]   Zhang Jin 280 −8 1 stroke   Li Haotong Genzon
2020 ASA, CHN, EUR[b]   Zhang Huilin 269 −19 9 strokes   Ding Wenyi (a) Genzon
2019 ASA, EUR   Mikko Korhonen 268 −20 Playoff   Benjamin Hébert Genzon
2018 ASA, EUR   Alexander Björk 270 −18 1 stroke   Adrián Otaegui Topwin
2017 EUR, ONE   Alexander Lévy (2) 271 −17 Playoff   Dylan Frittelli Topwin
2016 EUR, ONE   Li Haotong 266 −22 3 strokes   Felipe Aguilar Topwin
2015 EUR, ONE   Wu Ashun 279 −9 1 stroke   David Howell Tomson Shanghai Pudong
2014 EUR, ONE   Alexander Lévy 269 −19 4 strokes   Tommy Fleetwood Genzon
2013 EUR, ONE   Brett Rumford 272 −16 4 strokes   Mikko Ilonen Binhai Lake
2012 EUR, ONE   Branden Grace 267 −21 3 strokes   Nicolas Colsaerts Binhai Lake
2011 EUR, ONE   Nicolas Colsaerts 264 −24 4 strokes   Søren Kjeldsen
  Peter Lawrie
  Danny Lee
  Pablo Martín
Luxehills International
2010 EUR, ONE   Yang Yong-eun 273 −15 2 strokes   Rhys Davies
  Stephen Dodd
Suzhou Jinji Lake
2009 EUR, ONE   Scott Strange 280 −8 1 stroke   Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Beijing CBD International
2008 ASA, EUR   Damien McGrane 278 −10 9 strokes   Simon Griffiths
  Mike Lorenzo-Vera
  Oliver Wilson
Beijing CBD International
2007 ASA, EUR   Markus Brier 274 −10 5 strokes   Scott Hend
  Graeme McDowell
  Andrew McLardy
Shanghai Silport
2006 ASA, EUR   Jeev Milkha Singh 278 −10 1 stroke   Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Beijing Honghua International
2005 ASA, EUR   Paul Casey 275 −13 Playoff   Oliver Wilson Shenzhen
2004 ASA, EUR   Stephen Dodd 276 −12 3 strokes   Thomas Bjørn Shanghai Silport
2003 ASA   Zhang Lianwei 277 −11 2 strokes   Thaworn Wiratchant Shanghai Silport
2002 ASA   David Gleeson 272 −16 1 stroke   Pablo del Olmo Shanghai Silport
2001 ASA   Charlie Wi 272 −16 1 stroke   Thongchai Jaidee Shanghai Silport
2000 ASA   Simon Dyson 275 −13 1 stroke   Jyoti Randhawa Shanghai Silport
1999 ASA   Kyi Hla Han 273 −15 7 strokes   Christian Peña Shanghai Silport
1998 ASA   Ed Fryatt 269 −19 2 strokes   Takeshi Ohyama Shanghai Sun Island International
1997 ASA   Cheng Jun 280 −8 5 strokes   Adrian Percey Beijing International
1996 ASA   Prayad Marksaeng 269 −19 9 strokes   Hsieh Yu-shu Beijing International
1995 AGC   Raúl Fretes 277 −11 3 strokes   Lai Ying-juh Beijing International

Notes edit

  1. ^ AGC − Asia Golf Circuit; ASA − Asian Tour; CHN − China Tour; EUR − European Tour; ONE − OneAsia Tour.
  2. ^ a b Tournament held without European Tour/Asian Tour sanctioning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References edit

  1. ^ "Dodd Savours First European Tour Victory in Shanghai". European Tour. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  2. ^ "$A3 million China Open golf tees off". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  3. ^ "Asians stay away from OneAsia Tour". Malaysia Star. 16 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
  4. ^ "Colsaerts claims maiden title in China". ESPN. 24 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Wu Ashun wins the Volvo China Open to create history". Sky Sports News. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Li Haotong Takes Victory In Volvo China Open". Sky News. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Volvo China Open". China Tour. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  8. ^ "China Open removed, Portugal Masters added to European Tour". Associated Press. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  9. ^ "New Dates for 2021 Volvo China Open". Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  10. ^ "China Open puts safety first as Zhang reigns supreme". 21 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Updates to 2022 schedule". PGA European Tour. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. ^ Ball, Josh (13 September 2023). "Volvo China Open returns to Asian Tour as International Series event; Vu added to stellar field for Aramco Team Series". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  13. ^ "China's Award-Winning Destination". European Tour Destinations. Retrieved 1 November 2023.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Coverage on the European Tour's official site
  • Coverage on the Asian Tour's official site

22°20′N 114°04′E / 22.33°N 114.06°E / 22.33; 114.06