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The 36-hole Vietnam Championship is open to the country’s leading golfers aged 12 to 21. Three age-group winners – two boys and one girl – will qualify for the sixth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in March 2012, a World Amateur Golf Ranking event hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at Mission Hills Golf Club in China.
Younger children from the local community in Phan Thiet will also attend the Vietnam Championship as part of a grass-roots coaching programme launched by Ocean Dunes at the inaugural Faldo Series in 2008. The programme’s success was evident 24 months later when some of those beginners from the first free golf clinic in 2008 returned in 2010 as competitors. More are expected to play in 2011.
Located 200 kilometres northeast of Ho Chi Minh City in the coastal town of Phan Thiet, the Faldo Design layout at Ocean Dunes is often voted one of the country’s best golf courses. The 148-yard ninth hole on the links-style course has been ranked the ‘Best Par-3 Hole in Vietnam’ and one of the ‘Best 500 Holes in the World’.
Established in 1996, 35 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 25 countries worldwide with over 5,000 golfers participating each year. Former winners include Rory McIlroy, Nick Dougherty, Marc Warren, John Parry, Melissa Reid, Florentyna Parker and Yani Tseng, all winners on Tour.
The Faldo Series Asia is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A, official golf wear partner UFL and official suppliers TaylorMade and Tricor. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation (APGC).
The 2011/2012 Faldo Series Asia schedule features a record 18 tournaments in 14 different countries including five in mainland China plus others in The Philippines, Vietnam, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Brunei, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.
Updated on: 5/8/2011
