Hong Kong: With support from the Hong Kong Government’s Mega Events Fund and the return of UBS as title sponsor, this week’s Hong Kong Open is bringing the world’s leading golfers to Asia’s World City to compete for the US$2 million prize purse.

Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose, currently ranked eighth and seventh in the world respectively, are headlining the event and will be joined by Victor Dubuisson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Patrick Reed, Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee in one of the strongest fields in the event’s 57-year history.

Making the tournament more accessible than ever before for the Hong Kong public, several exciting community-focused initiatives have been implemented this year.

The highlight is ‘Free Thursday’, a new scheme offering free admission to the tournament on the event’s opening day at the Hong Kong Golf Club, a Golf Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

The ‘Free Thursday’ initiative will give visitors, local golf enthusiasts and new fans an opportunity to watch some of the world’s greatest golfers and experience the unique atmosphere of the Hong Kong Golf Club at no cost on Thursday, October 22.

Furthermore, organisers will host a ‘Community Open Day’ for the first time on Wednesday, October 21.

Targeting local youth and their families from the communities surrounding the Hong Kong Golf Club, the Community Open Day will feature a number of family-oriented programmes including arts and crafts, introductory golf programmes, rope-skipping and other interactive games.

The Open Day will offer a chance for the local community to visit Fanling and enjoy a fun, educational and healthy day out. Professional players will be on hand to meet the visiting kids and adults. All registered participants attending the Open Day will also receive two complimentary season passes for the tournament.

As part of its commitment to bring golf to the wider Hong Kong public,  the Hong Kong Golf Association will host a golf clinic for 150 local children featuring several of the tournament’s star golfers at the Tuen Mun Golf Centre on October 20.

This will be a unique opportunity for aspiring young golfers and beginners alike to hear from some of the top players in the world and watch them show-off their skills.

Organisers have also jointly launched a first-of-its-kind charity golf day surrounding the tournament, the UBS Hong Kong Open Charity Cup. With the attraction of playing on the composite Championship Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club – only playable for nine days per year – the Charity Cup is targeting at raising more than HK$1 million for three child and youth-based charities in Hong Kong.

via Community Programmes Take Centre Stage in Hong Kong – Asian Golf Industry Federation.