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OMEGA MISSION HILLS WORLD CUPNovember 23, 2011Ken ChuPeter DawsonTim FinchemJonathon LinenFrancesco MolinariGeorge O'GradyHAINAN ISLAND, CHINA DR.KEN CHU: Honourable Mr.Tim Finchem, Mr.George O'Grady, Mr.Jon Linen, distinguished guests, media friends, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening and welcome all of you to Mission Hills Hainan to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the World Cup of Golf. First of all, we would like to extend our gratitude to our proactive and committed partners, the International Federation of PGA Tours; our partner, OMEGA, our valued sponsors, media friends and all of the legendary players, with all of your support, contribution and warm presence, you have all, indeed, marked a major milestone in the development of China golf and Hainan Island. This tournament this week will be broadcast live to 150 countries worldwide, and popularising the game of golf in China to a quarter of the world's population, so you are all a natural ambassador of China golf development and Hainan Island. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Hainan provincial government, Haikou City government, and CGA for their continued support to the development of Mission Hills and this meaningful tournament. And lastly, on behalf of my family, we would like to extend our deepest and heart felt gratitude to our late father's friends and supporters who are here tonight. It is through your continued championship, advocacy and friendship that this dream can be realised, and his legacy can carry on. I hope you will all enjoy the hospitality here and make Mission Hills your home away from home this week. Thank you, good luck, and all the best. GEORGE O'GRADY: On behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, I would like to say how delighted we are to be here at the magnificent new Mission Hills Resort on Hainan Island for the 56th staging of the World Cup of Golf. The OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup is the oldest international team competition in golf.  We are here today because of the vision of a number of remarkable individuals who believe in the ability of this magnificent game to bring nations together in harmony. That is the spirit upon which the World Cup of Golf was founded. It was the dream of Dr. David Chu to bring the World Cup to China and to Mission Hills Golf Club. He first realised that dream back in 1995. We were all so very sorry to hear of Dr.Chu's passing earlier this year. The game of golf has lost a great visionary and we are proud to be here in Mission Hills today continuing his great legacy. I would like to extend our thanks to Ken and Tenniel Chu, and the outstanding team here at Mission Hills who have worked so hard on the organisation of this great event. I would also like to extend our thanks to all of the government officials who join us here today, and to the Chinese sports administration and the Chinese Golf Association, for their amazing leadership and support. We are, of course, indebted to OMEGA, and their president, Stephen Urquhart, for their commitment to the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup and their desire to elevate this historic championship to even greater heights. We thank them for their strong support of the World Cup, and for the significant contribution that the OMEGA brand has made to the sport of golf throughout the world. Finally, we congratulate all of the players from the 28 nations assembled here today, either through their automatic eligibility or the qualifying events staged in Asia, Europe and South America. The diversity of this field is a testament to the vision of John Jay Hopkins, the founding father of the World Cup, and we wish all of the competitors the best of luck this week and thank them, also, for their support of the championship. JON LINEN: Honoured guests, distinguished visitors, players, lovers of golf, this time‑honoured event now known as the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup was created by John Jay Hopkins in 1953. It began as the Canada Cup and then became the World Cup in 1967. Through the years, the World Cup has been embraced by the game's greatest players, and literally brought golf to the world. Indeed, the list of past World Cup champions includes many of golf's immortals, such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Seve Ballesteros and Gary Player, to name only a few. This year, it is indeed exciting to see the participation of so many of golf's current and emerging stars. As founder of the World Cup, Mr.Hopkins vision was to bring the nations of the world closer together through fierce, but gentlemanly, competition, among two‑player teams representing their country. He described his goal as international goodwill through golf. To quote Mr.Hopkins, "Friendship and goodwill are the only purposes of the World Cup. If we fall short of this goal, the tournament will have lost its significance."  These words describe the unique spirit of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup, which give the event its special identity in the world of sports. The International Golf Association, or the IGA, was established as the organisation through which the ideal of international goodwill through golf would be realised. I serve as chairman of the IGA, along with fellow IGA board members also present, George O'Grady, Executive Director of the European PGA Tour and Tim Finchem, Commissioner of the US PGA TOUR. The World Cup first came to China in Mission Hills and Mission Hills in 1995. I would like to say that we are proud to continue the noble heritage of the World Cup here in China in partnership with OMEGA, Mission Hills, the Federation of the PGA Tours, and of course, the leadership of the Chu family. We are confident that this 56th OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup will be instrumental in the continuing development of the game of golf in China, and the perpetuation of the event's over riding purpose, international goodwill through golf. COMMISSIONER FINCHEM: Thank you, and good evening, everyone. Also, particularly want to thank the players for travelling to make this event special this week. David Chu's vision is all around us, and is continued by his sons, Ken and Tenniel, from which we benefit. David Chu made enormous contributions to the development of golf in China, including his vision was the idea that if golf was going to grow in China, you would have to bring the best players in the world to China to demonstrate it, and that has happened. Two years ago, we created an award in David's name, recognising an individual who makes special contributions to the game of golf here in China. David Chu himself was the first recipient of that award. Tonight we recognise the Chief Executive of the Royal and Ancient, Peter Dawson, as the recipient of the David Chu Award. There are two major reasons for his recognition. First, as leader of the R&A, he has shepherded the notion that the R&A should create, foster and fund programmes all around the world that will bring golf to individuals who have not had access to it, and those programmes are evident throughout China. Secondly, Peter has taken a leadership role in bringing golf to the Olympic Games for the first time in the century, and as such, will unlock the coffers of governments all around the world to contribute and invest in the growth of the game. I don't think anyone could better personify what the David Chu Award is about than Peter Dawson, and I think it's fitting that he be the first recipient after David Chu himself. Peter was not able to make the trip to accept this award, but he shared some thoughts with us by film and I ask you to observe the screen behind me to see his reaction to this recognition. Thank you. PETER DAWSON: (Via video) Good evening. I'm sorry I can't be with you tonight, but I'm truly honoured to be the recipient of the 2011 David Chu Award. Dr. David Chu was remarkable man, a man of vision who left his Mark on so many areas of business and recreation. Sadly, he was taken from us too soon. The game of golf has much for which to thank him. The facilities he created, initially at Mission Hills Shenzhen, and more recently at Mission Hills Hainan, are truly outstanding.  They continue to showcase our sport in China, not just as willing hosts for succession of international championships, but also as a venue for innovative junior programmes, so vital to the future of golf. At the R&A, we are dedicated to encouraging the growth of the game of golf, all around the world but nowhere more so than in China. We will always be in David Chu's debt for the part he played in creating a bridge between China and the game of golf. He was truly a pioneer. My thanks go to the PGA Tour for creating this award and to the Chu family for selecting me to receive it. Our team at the R&A will continue to do everything it can to help golf continue to grow and develop in China. Thank you. FRANCESCO MOLINARI: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of all of the players from each of the 28 countries, it is our great pleasure to be here in Hainan Island to compete in the 56th OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup. We thank everyone from OMEGA, Mission Hills, and all of the tournament organisers for the warm welcome and hospitality they have shown us all. We hope that you enjoy watching us play over the next four days, for the honour of liting this magnificent trophy on Sunday night. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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