Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series Announces Second Half of 2016 Schedule
BEIJING, China (July 17, 2016) – The Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China has played six tournaments of the 2016 schedule, closing its first-half schedule at the Ping An Bank Private Bank Wanda Open in Baishan on July 3. Following the summer break, the Series will resume the week of August 29 when the second half of the season gets underway. The Series announced its remaining seven tournaments today that will complete the 13-tournament slate, one more event this year than in each of the Series’ first two seasons in 2014 and 2015. The season that began in May will conclude at the Buick Open in Guangzhou the week of November 7-13.
“We are pleased to announce the remainder of the 2016 schedule and are confident these seven events will complement the tournaments we’ve already played. We’re also happy with the announcement of one additional tournament this year, bringing to 13 the total number of events,” said Greg Gilligan, PGA TOUR Vice President and Managing Director, Greater China. “As we continue to see excellent play each week from our players, we anxiously anticipate watching the remainder of this season and seeing how it unfolds as players battle to earn Order of Merit to the 2017 Web.com Tour membership.”
The top money-winner in 2016 earns full Web.com Tour status for 2017, while players 2 through 5 on the Order of Merit become Web.com Tour members with conditional status.
The PGA TOUR China Series’ third season began in May at the Henan Open at St. Andrews Golf Club in
Zhengzhou. China teenager Zecheng Dou won the season’s first two tournaments, with American Alex Kang and Australia’s Rohan Blizard capturing the third and fourth events. Dou picked up his third triumph in five tries with his victory at the Sunning Estate Nanjing Zhongshan Open. Two weeks ago, South Korea’s Taewoo Kim won the Ping An Private Bank Wanda Open in Baishan.
Once the season restarts following the observed two-month break, players will resume action with three tournaments in three weeks, the first at a familiar place—Yulongwan Golf Club for the Yulongwan Yunnan Open (August 29-September 4). The course in Kunming has hosted a tournament in each of the first two years, with Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul winning in 2014 and New Zealand’s Josh Geary the champion in 2015. The following week, the Series travels to China’s capital for the Ping An Bank Open in Beijing. That stretch of tournaments ends at the Chongqing NewTown KingRun Open at KingRun Nanshan Golf Club, with final-round play set for September 18.
Following a one-week break, tournament play continues at a first-year event in Putian in the Fujian Province, September 26-October 2. A tournament is scheduled for October 3-9 at a yet-to-be-determined site. More information will be forthcoming. The season’s 12th tournament will make history when the
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Series moves outside Mainland China for the first time for an official event in Hong Kong the week of October 31 through November 6.
The season reaches completion the week of November 7-13 at the Buick Open at a to-be-determined golf course in Guangzhou. Despite adding a 13th tournament this year, this will be the earliest the Series has finished a season. In 2014, November 30 was the last day of the season. In 2015, the final tournament ended December 6.
“This is truly a team effort, with numerous people diligently working to make the Series a success. In less than three years, the Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series has become a staple of the sporting community here in China and a respected sports organization in this part of the world,” Gilligan continued. “The China Olympic Sports Industry has been a remarkable partner, and we truly feel the support of the China Golf Association as we grow the game in China.”
Through last week’s Ping An Private Bank Wanda Open, winners on PGA TOUR China have come from eight different countries, with seven players from China accounting for 12 of those titles. Australians have won six titles. Other wins have come from players from New Zealand, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. Two PGA TOUR China alums are currently inside the top 150 in the Official World Golf Ranking. South Korea’s Jeunghun Wang is 76th, and China’s Haotong Li is 141st. Wang has won twice on the European Tour this season and is playing in The Open Championship this week at Royal Troon in Scotland. Li, a Web.com Tour member and the 2014 PGA TOUR China Player of the Year, won the European Tour’s Volvo China Open in April.
About the Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series
The Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series is a professional golf tour that made its debut in 2014, with 12 events all played in China. The Series is an open-competition Tour open to all nationalities. The Series attracts players, mainly from Asia and other Pacific Rim countries, although there were 2014 members from five continents. In addition to Chinese players qualifying via the Order of Merit and a Qualifying Tournament, some playing opportunities are reserved for the best Chinese players on the China Golf Association’s ranking. The top-five money-winners from the PGA TOUR China Series’ Order of Merit at the end of the season earn Web.com Tour status for the following year.
About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, Ping An Bank China Tour – PGA TOUR China Series, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. The PGA TOUR’s mission is to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, and provide financial opportunities for TOUR players.
Worldwide, PGA TOUR tournaments are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 225 countries and territories in 32 languages. The PGA TOUR’s website is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and
the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. PGA TOUR China’s website is
