Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman captured the mood
perfectly as he brought down the curtain on the Mission Hills
World Celebrity Pro-Am on Sunday evening, hailing the unique event
and the tropical Chinese island of Hainan that hosts it as among
the most remarkable things he has seen.
Freeman was joined at the tournament by a
glittering array of Hollywood A-listers at Mission Hills
Haikou, including fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman, Jessica Alba
and Chris Evans, as well as greats from the sporting world
including Yao Ming, Evgeni Plushenko and Clarence Seedorf.
“I really appreciate having been invited to this wonderful
tournament, to this wonderful place and to spend time with you wonderful people,” said Freeman. “I am amazed by the facilities
here, by the people and by your country and I can’t wait to come back and spend time with you again. The resort and this island are
among the most remarkable things I have seen.”
Freeman
joined playing partner and multiple Major winner Gary Player to
help hand out awards to the winners of the Mission Hills World
Celebrity Pro-Am.
English Ryder Cup star Justin Rose
sealed the Professional Individual title with a final score of
five-under-par and joined forces with China’s top film director Feng Xiaogang to win the Pro-Celebrity Team category. The
Celebrity Individual title was won by Chinese actor Sun Nan.
Mission Hills Haikou also awarded Freeman, Player and
basketball great Yao Ming special “Spirit of Sport” awards for
their all-round commitment both to the game and to the ethos of
friendship the Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am promotes.
“I would like to thank all the world renowned celebrities and
the world’s best golf professionals here with us this weekend for their help towards stimulating the popularity of golf in China,
for helping to promote Hainan and Haikou tourism, and for all the hard work that you have done towards putting China on the world
map of golf,” said Mission Hills Group CEO and Chairman, Dr Ken
Chu.
The dual title-winning Rose heaped praised on a
tournament that encouraged guests to mix and mingle not only with
each other but with the tens of thousands of fans who gathered to
line the fairways each day and cheer on the stars.
“I've seen people laughing, smiling and joking,
and there's been camaraderie on and off the golf course,” said
Rose. “I’ve been making new friends with some of these people that
I've really looked up to, including Gary Play, Morgan Freeman and
Yao Ming ... That's been the most memorable thing about this
tournament, that and understanding all the great things that are
being done here at Mission Hills with the commitment to the game
and commitment to growing golf here in China, with the programmes
that are being run to bring families together and to bring young
children into the game, too.”
Rose was among some of the
greats of the game to come to Mission Hills Haikou for the event,
with their number including fellow Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and
Paul McGinley, as well as Major winners John Daly, Ian Woosnam,
Darren Clarke and Rich Beem.
The innovative Mission Hills World Celebrity
Pro-Am tournament saw 24 elite professional golfers paired with
celebrities over two rounds this weekend played on Mission Hills
Haikou’s signature Blackstone Course.
Proceeds from the tournament will be
donated to the World Wildlife Fund and Yao Ming Foundation.
Hainan,
Mission Hills,
Golf
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