Annika Invitational Taking Place at Mission Hills in China

Some of the best female junior golfers in Asia are ready to do battle over the next three days in the fourth annual Annika Invitational at Mission Hills in China.

Swedish golfing great Annika Sörenstam is the tournament host and will be guest of honour this week, conducting a skills clinic on Thursday and handing out trophies to the winners on Friday.

Players will compete in two age groups, 12-15 and 16-18, and all three rounds will be played on the Sörenstam-designed Annika Course at Mission Hills Dongguan. The first round tees off at 07:30 on Wednesday.

The top three finishers will graduate to the Annika International Invitational in the United States while the overall winner this week will be invited to play in the star-studded World Ladies Championship – co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and China LPGA Tour – at Mission Hills Haikou in March next year.

This year’s field, which contains players from China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines, will be aiming to follow in the pioneering footsteps of Chinese teenager Ji Rong.

The talented Ji won last year’s Annika Invitational by three shots and went on to make the cut in this season’s World Ladies Championship, which was won by Korean superstar Inbee Park.

“Our desire to help grow women’s golf is absolute and the Annika Invitational, with the winner being invited to the World Ladies Championship, is a pillar of this commitment,” said Mission Hills Group Vice Chairman Mr. Tenniel Chu. “No other golf club in the world does as much as we do for junior golf – we have some 43 junior tournaments this year alone and three of our courses are open free of charge, year-round, for players under 16. We are, of course, a family-friendly organisation and equality between boys and girls is a key component of our various development programmes. We are delighted to welcome Annika back to Mission Hills and we are sure the girls playing this week will be thrilled to meet and learn from such a legend and role model.”

For the first time, scores in the Annika Invitational will contribute to the China Golf Association’s Junior Rankings. Results from the event are already factored in to the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

In a line-up packed with young talent, 15-year-old Sui Xiang of China will be one of the favourites. She was overall winner of the 2012 Annika Invitational and was crowned girls’ overall champion in this year’s Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship.

Sörenstam – the greatest female golfer of her generation and often regarded as the best of all time – has gone on record praising Mission Hills for its efforts in the women’s game.

“I’m very pleased to be working with Mission Hills to help grow the game in China,” she confirmed. “Mission Hills has done an incredible job developing the game and we are happy we can work together to offer opportunities to junior golfers and to get children living active, healthy lifestyles. We hope the Annika Invitational at Mission Hills will leave a lasting legacy to develop future generations of female golfers in China.”

During her 15-year Hall of Fame career, the Swede rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards, and changed the way women’s golf was played, viewed and covered.

She amassed 89 worldwide victories, including 72 on the LPGA Tour, 10 of which were Majors. She captured a record eight Player of the Year awards and still holds the record for the lowest scoring average in a season – 68.6969 in 2004. She remains the only female to break 60 in an official event.

Sörenstam’s relationship with Mission Hills dates back a decade and further underscores the club’s tie-in to women’s golf. While at the peak of her powers as a player, she undertook her first course design at Dongguan, joining greats such Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Ernie Els in putting her name to a course at the expansive resort.

She founded the Annika International Invitational in the US in 2009. Two years later, Mission Hills was chosen to host the first Annika Invitational event outside the US, making it the first junior girls-only tournament in Asia.