Shanghai, May22, 2008: The Faldo Series Asia will begin its 2008 ‘China swing’ when the Shanghai Championship – the first of three back-to-back events on the mainland – is launched at Shanghai Silport Golf Club on July 3-4.

The Shanghai leg at Silport is new to the Faldo Series Asia schedule for 2008 and is followed by tournaments at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen (July 23-24) and Lakeview Golf Club in Kunming (August 12-13). The Grand Final in March 2009, also at Mission Hills, is the fourth and final event on the mainland and six winners from Shanghai will be there.

Six-time Major winner Nick Faldo, who will host the Grand Final, commented: “One of the aims of the Faldo Series is to give players the experience of playing under the same conditions as a professional golfer. With Silport’s record of hosting first-class tournaments, including the Asian and European Tours, it is the ideal venue for our first ever event in Shanghai. I am grateful to the Silport Group, in particular the chairman Mr Beta Soong, for approaching us and offering to help develop tomorrow’s champions.”

Supported by Mission Hills, The R&A and UBS, leading young golfers from across Asia competing in the Shanghai Championship, boys and girls aged 11 to 21, will experience strict tournament conditions on the course, while off the course they will receive expert advice from a guest speaker. Children from the local community will also be attending to receive free coaching and watch the competitors in action, part of Faldo’s drive to simultaneously create access to the sport at a grass-roots level.

Also backed by Korn/Ferry International, the Shanghai Championship is one of 12 Faldo Series Asia events in 2008/2009, including four in China plus one in each of ZH Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, over 60 competitors from across the region will qualify for the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final on the Faldo Course at Mission Hills in March 2009. As well as spending time with the six-time Major winner, the finalists will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the 2007 champion, 17-year-old Rashid Khan of India. Khan’s victory earned him a place in the Faldo Series Grand Final in Europe and, courtesy of the Asian Tour, a start in the Volvo Masters Asia and a scholarship to stage one of Asian Tour qualifying school.

Anyone wishing to attend the Shanghai Championship, players or spectators, should contact Shanghai Silport Golf Club on Tel: 57482244 Email:linda@silport.com.cn or visit the website at www.silport.com.cn

For information on the Faldo Series Asia visit www.nickfaldo.com

For further press information and images, please contact:

Tom Phillips Faldo Series Asia Office: +852 2819 3364 Mobile: +852 9447 8415 Email: tphillips@nickfaldo.com

Julia Zhang Shanghai Silport Golf Club Office: 051257498758 Mobile: 13706260066 Email: julia@silport.com.cn