Asian Amateur tees off Thursday
SHENZHEN, China -- A berth in the 2010 Masters, plus a spot in the International Final qualifying tournament for the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews, is on the line in the Asian Amateur Championship which begins here Thursday.
The field of 116 players comes from 30 countries. Players range in age from 14-year-old Rattanon Wannasrichan of Thailand to 52-year-old Abdulla Sultan of Bahrain.
The event will be played on the par-72 World Cup Course at the Mission Hills Golf Club.
Favorites include Australian Daniel Nisbet, a 19-year-old who has won four events this year, and Hu Mu, the low amateur from the 2008 BMW Asian Open. Rashid Khan of India is the two-time Faldo Series Asia Grand Final champion.
The field will be cut to the top 60 and ties for the final two rounds over the weekend.
The event will be televised in 150 countries, including on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com in the United States.
