Dr David Chu, founder of the Mission Hills Group, has been presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the eighth annual KPMG Golf Business Forum at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Dubai.
The award was received on behalf of Dr Chu by his son Tenniel Chu, who was congratulated by George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour.
In 1993, Dr Chu laid out his vision for the Mission Hills Golf Club, which is set in the rolling hills of Shenzhen in southern China and has now been officially recognised as the world’s largest golfing resort, according to the Guinness World Records.
Two years later, Mission Hills Golf Club hosted the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, which was the very first professional golf tournament staged and televised in China.
Since then Dr Chu, often referred to as ‘The Father of Golf in China’, has helped bring more than 100 tournaments to the country.
Speaking at the Golf Business Forum, O’Grady said: “The business benefits so ably demonstrated in Dubai are now envied and copied throughout the world and none more so than in China, where a World Golf Championship is being staged in Shanghai and the World Cup is held at Mission Hills in Shenzen – the world’s largest golf resort. It is a great pleasure to see its founder and Chairman and a great personal friend of mine, Dr David Chu, being honoured during the conference this week with the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s specialist Golf Advisory Practice, said: “Dr David Chu is a true global ambassador for the game of golf. He has been the driving force behind bringing the Chinese sports industry to the world stage, not only with golf, but also making significant contributions to the successful bid for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. So it is only right that we recognise Dr Chu, who continues to explore new golf horizons and champions the development and growth of the game throughout the world.”
Two years ago, Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup at the Mission Hills Golf Club’s José Maria Olazábal-designed course, one of 12 at the resort.
The Molinari Brothers will return to China to defend their title from November 24-27, when the US$7.5million showpiece will be played at the brand new Mission Hills Resort on Hainan Island, which features ten world-class courses constructed over volcanic terrain.
