Can this save Fanling golf course? Asian pros vote for Hong Kong as best golf course and best tournament for 2018
- Asian Tour players voted for Hong Kong as the best tournament of 2018 and best golf course
- The double award as the government mulls the future of the 170-hectare Fanling facility
Are Asia’s leading golfers sending a plea to the Hong Kong government? If so, the message is emphatic.
The Asian Tour players have banded together and voted the Honma Hong Kong Open as the best tournament of 2018 and the Hong Kong Golf Club’s Championship course as the best golf course of the year.
The double whammy at the Asian Tour end-of-season dinner in Jakarta on Sunday night comes just as the Hong Kong government is pondering the future of the Fanling facility where England’s Aaron Rai set a course record of 61 in November on his way to victory in the 60th edition of the Hong Kong Open.
Asked if the awards reflected players’ concerns about Fanling’s future, Hong Kong Golf Association CEO Danny Lai said: “Certainly. We have heard a lot of positive comments about the course and the tournament from players. They love coming here to Fanling and Clearwater Bay [for the Clearwater Bay Open on the PGA-China Tour Series].
“Hong Kong is a very welcome hub for players because of our organising power, convenience, the facilities and the city itself.
“This is a heritage course, more than 100 years old. There is no other course like it in the Far East and that’s why the players love it.”
The Hong Kong Open, which is also on the European Tour schedule, beat out more than 30 other tournaments, including the Singapore Open, Maybank Championship, Donghae Open and the Indonesian Masters to win best tournament of the year.
