Mission Hills Group today announced a list of international super-stars from the world of sport, golf and entertainment to play in the World Celebrity Pro-Am on 18-21 October 2012 at Mission Hills in Haikou.
The World Celebrity Pro-Am brings together superstar celebrities, sports legend and renowned golf players including former NBA Star Yao Ming who will be the event’s Charity Ambassador, former world number one tennis player Boris Becker; Brazilian football super-star Ronaldo; Chinese gymnast and international businessman Li Ning; former world number one snooker player Stephen Hendry and major winner Ian Woosnam.
Other stars who have confirmed their attendance to this event include Chinese famous film director Feng XiaoGang, He Ping, Wang Zhiwen, Chen Tao-ming, Zhang Guoli, Sun Nan, Leon Lai, Coco Lee, Charlie Young, Michelle Chen.
Speaking at the Shanghai launch, the former NBA player Yao Ming said, “It’s going to be an awesome event and I’m just really looking forward to it. We’re used to competing with people in our own sport but to have the opportunity to mix it up with the likes of Ronaldo, Becker and Woosnam is pretty amazing. With names like that, this is going to be a big event not only here in China but throughout the region and around the world.”
Mission Hills also announced the formation of a tournament celebrity committee which, amongst other things, will be responsible for the event’s charitable activities. The committee will be made up of Dr. Ken Chu, Mission Hills Group Chairman and CEO; golfing legend Greg Norman; former Chairman of CITIC Group and Vice Chairman of the China Golf Association, Wang Jun; Chairman and CEO Liu Changle ,Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings,; Chairman of the Hong Kong Ocean Park Group and Lan Kwai Fong Group, Allan Zeman; Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang; legendary Chinese gymnast Li Ning; Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang, Leon Lai; and Sina CEO Charles Chao. The Yao Ming Foundation & the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will both be charitable beneficiaries of the event.
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima. the former FIFA World Cup winner and FIFA Player of the Year, known simply as Ronaldo around the footballing world, is one of the true greats of the game. Speaking about the forthcoming event, he said, “I took up golf in 1998 and play a bit so it should be great fun. I’m looking forward to coming to China and playing on Hainan Island.”
The so-called Chinese “Prince of Gymnastics” Li Ning who carried the Olympic torch at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, has long been committed to the development of golf in China and was also announced as one of the star players for the event, along with tennis legend and winner of six Grand Slam tournaments, Boris Becker.
Speaking in Shanghai today, Dr. Ken Chu, Chairman and CEO of Mission Hills Group said, “We firmly believe that the World Celebrity Pro-Am will take golf to a new level, not just in China but across the region. But this event is about more than golf. What we want to do here is create entertainment for people, so whether you’re into golf, football, tennis, acting or just watching celebrities, there’s going to be something for you. At Mission Hills we’ve always been committed to promoting international understanding through large-scale cultural and sporting events and the World Celebrity Pro-Am is certainly no exception to this.”
The internationally acclaimed tournament was first staged in 2010 and this ground-breaking celebrity Pro-Am has already been one of the region’s leading lifestyle and entertainment event.
It will adopt the Stableford points scoring system enabling pro-golfers to compete alongside amateurs, making for a thrilling contest with prize money on offer of over 1 million US dollars. Mission Hills Group will confirm more participating golfers and celebrities in the coming months.
For more information please visit：www.missionhillswcpa.com
Image 1: Dr. Ken Chu gives a special golf club to Yao Ming as a gift
Image 2: l-r Mr Bian Curley (Course Designer), Mr Simon Yam, Mr He Ping, Mr Yao Ming, Dr Ken Chu, Mr Feng Xiaogang, Mr Eric Tsang and Mr Tenniel Chu.
