Hong Kong Golf Club Captain Mark Roberts welcomed Ernie Els to the wonderful Fanling venue ahead of the South African’s first round of the Hong Kong Open to give Els a quick tour of the club as it prepares to celebrate its 125thanniversary.
Established in 1889, the Hong Kong Golf Club is one of the world’s most established clubs which is steeped in history and tradition. Originally located in the Happy Valley area on Hong Kong Island, the Club moved to its current site at Fanling in 1911 and hosted the first Hong Kong Open in 1959, making the tournament the longest running sporting event in Hong Kong. The club has hosted every edition of the Hong Kong Open.
Els, a keen student of the history of the golf, made a point of arriving early ahead of his first round in order to be given a tour of the clubhouse by Captain Roberts.
After seeing the clubhouse and getting his hands on some of the club's fascinating artefacts, Els toured the club’s heritage exhibition in the tournament’s tented village area – a beautiful collection of pictures, paintings and stories charting the history of the 125 year old institution.
Els was captivated by his Tour before opening his bid to win the Hong Kong Open with a fine four under 66 to lie just two shots behind first round leader Jyoti Randhawa.
"The captain gave me the full treatment this morning," said Els. "He showed me everything, gave me the history lesson of the whole place. It's quite something. It's a unique club with wonderful membership and wonderful champions. I saw the list of winners of this events and it's a Who's Who of golf."
Click here for an historical timeline of the Hong Kong Golf Club’s 125 year history.
