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‘There are not many golf courses like it in the world’ – Hong Kong Open champion Aaron Rai hopes Fanling is saved from bulldozers

  • Englishman says it is one of the few courses where pros have nothing bad to say
  • The government is looking at proposals to build public housing on the site

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The fifth hole of the Championship course at Fanling. Photo: Richard Castka
England’s Aaron Rai, the newly crowned Honma Hong Kong Open champion, said the Fanling course is a rare gem in world golf and it would be a shame if the government were to raze the site and build public housing on it.
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US Masters champion Patrick Reed joined Rai and other golfers in expressing hope that the Championship course and other fairways are saved, though the American said the decision must be left to the people of Hong Kong.

When asked how he would feel if he were to return to Hong Kong in 10 years and find that the Hong Kong Golf Club course had been turned into buildings, the 23-year-old Rai said: “You know, it would be a real shame if that was to happen.

Aaron Rai with the trophy after winning the Hong Kong Open. Photo: Richard Castka
Aaron Rai with the trophy after winning the Hong Kong Open. Photo: Richard Castka
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“We play so many amazing courses on the European Tour, and sometimes the players as a whole are very hard to please and you kind of get mixed reviews about courses week to week.

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