Golfing legend Annika Sorenstam will return to southern China in February to host the ninth edition of her ever-popular ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills. The all-girls event is one of the highlights of an award-winning junior schedule at the world’s largest golf facility that features more than 30 tournaments for thousands of young golfers during 2019.
Hosted by the ten-time Major Champion, the 2019 ANNIKA Invitational will take place on her highly-acclaimed Annika Course at Mission Hills Dongguan from February 27 to March 1. With R&A and CGA ranking points on offer, top female golfers aged eight to 18 will compete over three rounds for a place in the prestigious ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex.
Tenniel Chu, Group Vice-Chairman of Mission Hills said: “Following recent announcements of our PGA of America partnership and our golf scholarship programme with The R&A, 2019 promises to be another significant year for the Mission Hills junior golf programme as we strive to introduce more Chinese people to the game and contribute to the growth of golf worldwide.”
Other highlights of the 2019 junior calendar at Mission Hills include two Faldo Series qualifiers in the same year.
Given the popularity of Sir Nick Faldo’s global golf development initiative, which has been running at Mission Hills since 2006, a Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship has been scheduled for May 24-26 followed by a Faldo Series Hainan Championship on October 25-27.
The 2019 tournament schedule – part of a junior golf programme at Mission Hills that was recently voted Best Youth Programme in Asia at the Sport Industry Awards – tees off on January 6 with the first of 10 legs for the Mission Hills Junior Series and is followed by the first of 10 Mission Hills Par-3 Series events on January 13.
Also returning to the schedule will be the 12th Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship (April 19-21) and the third Mission Hills Junior Open (March 29-31), both offering its leading players the opportunity to compete in America, the latter at the World Stars of Junior Golf event in Las Vegas.
Mission Hills Group is the owner and operator of two luxury resorts in China, one in Shenzhen in southern China and the other in Haikou on the tropical tourism island of Hainan. Together, the fully-integrated facilities span a total of 40 square kilometres and 22 golf courses, making Mission Hills the largest golf complex in the world.
Photo – 10-time Major Champion Annika Sorenstam hosts a clinic for players during the 2018 ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills China.
Please click here for the 2019 Mission Hills junior tournament schedule in full.
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ABOUT MISSION HILLS GROUP
Mission Hills Group, owner and operator of Mission Hills resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan, is synonymous with leisure, wellness, entertainment and luxury.
Founded in 1992, Mission Hills is recognized as one of the world’s leading golf brands and a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry. The world-class integrated leisure and wellness resort destinations have hosted more than 100 international tournaments, dating back to the World Cup of Golf in 1995, the first international golf tournament in China. Mission Hills has also been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Largest Golf Club” and the “World’s Largest Mineral Springs and Spa Resort”.
Mission Hills’ properties sprawl over 40 square kilometres. They include 22 championship courses designed by renowned players and architects from five continents, five-star resorts, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centres, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility. Mission Hills is also the official training headquarters for China’s Tennis, Football and Golf Associations.
The Group’s ‘golf and more’ leisure philosophy has seen its tourism-related business expand into a leisure hub for multi-generational families. Mission Hills Centreville in Shenzhen and Haikou provides integrated shopping, recreational, business, education, entertainment, leisure and cultural experiences, including Bromsgrove School Mission Hills in Shenzhen in collaboration with the historic British boarding school. Mission Hills has also extended its foray into the hospitality industry by partnering with world-renowned hotel brands such as Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton. These collaborations have seen the opening of Ritz-Carlton’s first golf resort hotel in China and China’s first Hard Rock Hotel in Shenzhen.
Other significant projects include Movie Town in Haikou in partnership with China’s largest film production company, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation and award-winning director, Feng Xiaogang and China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park in collaboration with Australia’s leading entertainment group and largest theme park operator, Village Roadshow Limited.
Mission Hills has also announced ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona and the NBA to bring the world’s most famous football club and the world’s largest professional basketball league to its Haikou resort, making Hainan island a leading hub for football and basketball development in China.
For more information and latest updates, visit www.missionhillschina.com or follow Mission Hills China on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.