Shenzhen switch for China Open

Shenzhen’s Genzon Golf Club will be the venue for the 25th Volvo China Open when the championship returns to the city from May 2-5.

The tournament, originally scheduled for Chengdu, will be the first event staged at Genzon Golf Club since it became the first Chinese venue to join European Tour Properties’ portfolio of destinations earlier this year.

The club’s track record of staging high-quality tournaments — it also hosted a European Tour event from 2015-17 — has paved the way for its second staging of the Volvo China Open.

Organized by the China Golf Association and sanctioned by the European Tour, the 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) tournament makes a welcome return to the Neil Haworth-designed course in the city’s Longgang district for the first time since France’s Alex Levy won the 20th edition of the Volvo China Open in 2014.

“After celebrating the 20th anniversary at Genzon Golf Club in 2014, it feels particularly poignant to be returning to the venue once again for the 25th anniversary of the Volvo China Open,” said Sven De Smet, chairman of the Volvo China Open board.

“It seems like only yesterday when Alex Levy won his first European Tour title at the 2014 Volvo China Open and since then he has gone on to become the tournament’s only two-time champion. Today the city of Shenzhen is one of vitality and innovation, and I believe that with the full support of the Genzon Group our 25th anniversary will be both successful and memorable.”

Allen Fei, vice-president of the Genzon Group, said the countdown is well underway.

“Genzon Golf Club and the Genzon Group are committed to supporting the game of golf and the sports industry in China,” he said. “It’s great to be able to bring the Volvo China Open back to the city of Shenzhen and to the Genzon Golf Club.

“Our members and golf fans in Shenzhen are already looking forward to watching the best international and Chinese players competing here again. Over the next three months or so, we will work closely with the tournament management team to prepare to present the best ever national open golf championship of China.”

The 25th anniversary will be a major milestone for the Volvo China Open, which has developed into a top professional tournament over the past 24 years.

The tournament has welcomed many of the game’s biggest names, including Levy and 2018 champion Alexander Bjork of Sweden, as well as homegrown stars and former champions such as Li Haotong and Wu Ashun.