Hong Kong SAR, China: The Link Hong Kong Open is well and truly Open for All with the Hong Kong Golf Club (HKGC) set to host the 63rd edition of the city’s oldest professional sporting event – joining only one other club worldwide as hosts of the same tournament for over six decades, the other being Augusta National Golf Club and the US Masters.

New Zealander Ben Campbell is set to defend his title from last year although the competition will be fierce with three Major champions in the field – 2013 US Open champion and 2015 Hong Kong Open winner Justin Rose, 2018 US Masters winner Patrick Reed, and 2014 US Open winner Martin Kaymer, whose first professional tournament was at the Hong Kong Open in 2006.

Reed, who will be making his fifth appearance in Fanling, spoke about what keeps bringing him back to Hong Kong. He said: “I think the biggest thing is the golf course. Every time I’ve come it is absolutely outstanding. It’s always in mint condition and what makes this golf course special is it makes you use just about every club in the bag, so it’s definitely a thinking man’s game.”

The event was opened yesterday with some high drama at the Xiqu Centre, the home of Chinese Opera in Hong Kong, with the official press conference for the Link Hong Kong Open 2024.

Special guests included George Hongchoy, Executive Director & Group CEO, Link Asset Management Limited; and Andy Kwok, Captain of the HKGC. The event was also supported by members of the Hong Kong Young Talent Cantonese Opera Troupe.

While this year’s event comes steeped in history – the tournament is a major part of the HKGC’s 135th anniversary celebrations – the future is equally to the fore with some of golf’s ascending stars in the field, including PGA Tour star Tom Kim from Korea and Taichi Kho, 2023 Asian Tour rookie of the year and the first Hong Kong player to win a tournament on the Asian Tour.

The 22-year-old Kim has already claimed two Asian Tour events, along with three on the PGA Tour – becoming the youngest player since Tiger Woods to achieve that feat. There has also been a tied second at The Open Championship and a tied eighth at the US Open last year, while he came close to a breakthrough DP World Tour victory when he finished second via a play-off in the Genesis Championship in Korea in September.

The Link Hong Kong Open is also breaking new ground – and barriers – with the first inclusion of a golfer with disability … and not just any golfer with disability but the world number one, the 25-year-old Kipp Popert from England, who will make tournament history this week in Fanling.  

For the second year in a row, the Link Hong Kong Open is part of The International Series, the set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar that form a pathway to the LIV Golf League. Events on The International Series also provide opportunity for local talent to compete in elite fields at each of its 10 destinations.

In 2023, the Hong Kong Open won The International Series’ Tournament of the Year award and was a Player’s Choice for Course of the Year winner.

The importance of this year’s edition of the Link Hong Kong Open is reflected in the fact that the field includes the top four players in both the Asian Tour Order of Merit (John Catlin, Richard T. Lee, Lee Chieh-po and Ben Campbell) and the top four players in the International Series Rankings (Catlin, Lee, Peter Uihlein and Campbell).

Alongside Taichi Kho, Hong Kong, China has an impressive group of established professionals and rising amateurs in the field, including Hong Kong Open Qualifier winner Terrence Ng and runner-up and trainee professional at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Michael Regan Wong. They are joined by fellow Hong Kong pros Jason Hak and Leon D’Souza, and a crop of promising amateurs in Jeffrey Shen, Isaac Lee, Alexander Yang and Timothy Chan.

The tournament also gives Hong Kong fans an early chance to catch up with some of the players in the running to feature in next year’s National Games – also to be hosted by the HKGC – including leading Chinese stars Liu Yanwei, Chen Guxin, Zhang Xinjun and Ye Wocheng.

In keeping with the event theme of the Link Hong Kong Open – Open For All, admission is free on Thursday and Friday. Season passes, including the final two days of tournament play on Saturday and Sunday, are HK$300 for a weekend pass or HK$200 per day. Fans 18 and under can enjoy free entry across all four days of play when accompanied with a ticketed adult or with a photo ID containing date of birth.

Admission to the Link Hong Kong Open Fan Village is free by entry to the venue.