Jakarta, Indonesia: The Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) has been named as the Asian Tour’s Golf Course of the Year.
Host to the Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi, the New Territories venue is among the most revered golfing establishments in the region.
Meanwhile, also voted for by the players, the Hong Kong Open beat off the challenge of the SMBC Singapore Open, Maybank Championship, Shinhan Donghae Open and BNI Indonesian Masters to win the Asian Tour’s Tournament of the Year accolade.
“We are delighted to win the Golf Course of the Year award from the Asian Tour,” said Ian Gardner, General Manager of the Hong Kong Golf Club, a Golf Course Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
“The endorsement from the players will motivate us to do even better and we’ll continue to establish the Hong Kong Golf Club as the venue of choice on the Asian Tour,” he added.
The club has hosted the Hong Kong Open for 60 consecutive years. The only other club that has hosted the same event for more than 55 years is Augusta National Golf Club which stages the Masters Tournament every year.
The Hong Kong Open also has the distinction of being the Special Administrative Region of China’s longest-running professional sporting event.
This year, the event saw Englishman Aaron Rai lifting the trophy to join an illustrious list of winners that include Major champions Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Tom Watson, among many other luminaries of the sport.
The Shinhan Donghae Open won the Spectator Engagement award for the third year in a row. Apart from a bustling and interactive spectator’s village, the 2018 edition had digital initiatives such as live broadcasts of interviews via Facebook and conveniently-located interactive kiosks, where fans could check live scores and the location of players.