Women’s World Rankings Summit in China

Ladies European Tour CEO Ivan Khodabakhsh, seated front row, third from left, alongside Mission Hills Group Vice Chairman Mr Tenniel Chu and representatives of the nine leading women’s golf tours at the 2015 Women’s World Golf Rankings Spring Meeting at Mission Hills.

The rise of golf in China has been a hot topic in and around this week’s US$600,000 World Ladies Championship at Mission Hills Haikou.

It was certainly one among a number of trends being discussed at the Women’s World Golf Rankings summit being hosted by Mission Hills on the side lines of the main event – the first time such a gathering has been held in Asia.

Ladies European Tour CEO Ivan Khodabakhsh said: “The global growth of women’s golf is particularly evident in Asia and the Ladies European Tour is proud to have strong partnerships with the China Golf Association and China LPGA Tour.

“Together, we co-sanction four tournaments in China and the LET’s contribution to the development of the game is again reflected in our Asian pre-qualifier for young and future talent at Mission Hills Resort.

“As a member of the Women’s World Golf Rankings, we are delighted to have invited the group to Mission Hills for an historic first meeting in Asia. It was a ground breaking meeting where we sought to improve the golf rankings system to create a more balanced qualification for the Olympic Games.”

The Women’s World Golf Rankings stand as the definite reference guide for ranking golfers across the globe and representatives from the nine sanctioning professional tours have been at Mission Hills Haikou this week.

Mission Hills Group Vice Chairman Mr Tenniel Chu said the meeting was further indication of the important role China and Asia now play in the sport.

“It has been a great honour for us to host this gathering,” said Mr Chu. “Mission Hills is determined to help elevate Asian golf.”