China's richest golf championship, the World Wind Cup China Golf Pro-Am Championship, will be held from June 5-10. More than 100 professional golfers from China and abroad, as well as an amateur team consisting of Chinese celebrities will compete in the championship. 

The event, featuring a prize pool of 2.1 million yuan, will be held at Beijing Tian'an Holiday Sports Club, east of Eastern Fifth Ring Road. It is the third time that the annual tournament has been held, presented by the China Gold Association and China Unicom. This year it has been raised to the status of professional competition, which means professional players will get career points and amateur players amateur points for achieving high positions.

China Golf Association has invited 10 professional golfers from other countries and regions in Asia, to heighten the level of the competition. Internationally, Pro-Am is a popular form of golf competition. Famous events include Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

The championship will continue to use the system of four-round individual stroke play, same as the past two years. The preliminary contest will be on June 7-8, which will decide the top 40 male players and 25 female players to move into the championship on June 9-10. The match will include two professionals and two amateurs in each team. The final champion will be determined by the total points of professional players' 72 holes in four rounds, and those of amateurs' 36 holes in two rounds.

The top 40 male players will share 1.5 million yuan's prize, while the best 25 women players will share 600,000 yuan. The top male player gets 280,000, and the top female player gets 160,000.

To inquire about competition please contact Zhongtilu Sports Ltd at 67164537 Ext 803. Tian'an Holiday Golf Club, 39 Dongwei Lu, Jinzhan Township, Chaoyang District. 5120-0558.

(China Daily 05/30/2007 page17)