UBS Hong Kong Open

Of all the professional golfing stops in Asia, the Hong Kong Open, the third-eldest tournament in the region, holds a special place in the hearts and minds of the game’s best players.

For almost 50 years the tournament has brought elite golf to one of the world’s most dynamic cities, one known for its spectacular skyline and vibrant lifestyle. In a part of the world where golf’s relative lack of history is belied by its recent growth in popularity, the tradition and heritage of the tournament – the longest-running professional sporting event in Hong Kong – is unique.

The Hong Kong Open was established in 1959, played then – as it has been every year since – at Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling. That tournament was won by Taiwan’s Lu Liang-huan, who, 12 years later, wearing a bright blue pork pie hat, a nickname of ‘Mr Lu’ and cheery grin, would shock the golfing world by very nearly defeating Lee Trevino at the Open at Royal Birkdale. Lu would add another Hong Kong title in 1974.

Peter Thomson, the five-time Open champion, a player who took it upon himself to get behind golf in Asia at a time when travel in the region was a difficult challenge, was one of event’s biggest supporters in the early days.

He went on to pocket three titles in the 1960s, with another Taiwanese, Hsieh Yung-yo, back-to-back champion in 1963-1964, posting four victories to be the most prolific champion in the event’s history.

From those early days, though, the UBS Hong Kong Open moved very much into the big time. Dual Open champion Greg Norman is another multiple winner, while also having seen their names etched on the tournament trophy are Major winners such as Ian Woosnam, Tom Watson and Jose Maria Olazábal.

In 2001, the year of Olazábal’s victory, another significant milestone was achieved when the event was joint-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours for the first time. In 2007, another Spaniard, Miguel Angel Jimenez won his second Hong Kong Open title after a thrilling last day shoot-out with Robert Karlsson.

Still one of just a handful of tournaments of such long history to have been played continuously at a single venue, the US Masters at Augusta National is another, the UBS Hong Kong Open will again be played in November this year, a spectacular time of year in the southern Chinese autumn.

More than 130 of the world’s best players will gather to compete for a US$2.25 million prize fund. However, competition will be tougher than ever in the battle for victory, with a slew of the best players from the Asian and European Tours once again vying for this famous title.