NEWLY inducted Basketball Hall of Famers Yao Ming and Allen Iverson will visit China’s Hainan on Oct. 21 -23, when the fourth edition of the World Celebrity Pro-Am tees off at Mission Hills Haikou.

    The event brings together 30 internationally famous celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment and pairs them with eight professional golfers over three days of competition that is fun for the participants, fans and all involved.

    This year’s sporting lineup is no different with a host of superstars from a variety of sports. They don’t get any bigger than Yao as the former Houston Rockets’ great is returning to the scene where he first learned how to play golf at the 2012 World Celebrity Pro-Am. With his specially designed clubs, the 2.29-meter Shanghai native easily hit the ball 200 yards or more, earning praise from China’s golf pioneer Zhang Lianwei in the process.

    At the 2014 pro-am, Yao received expert coaching from top professionals Suzann Pettersen and Ian Poulter. Now two years later, there will be great interest to see how the big man has improved his golf game when he takes on the Blackstone Course.

    Among the early confirmations booked for Hainan are Academy Award-winning actor/producer Michael Douglas, singer/actor Jay Chou, and tennis great Boris Becker, a six-time Grand Slam winner.

    From the pitch, Dutch legends the De Boer twins, Frank and Ronald, lead a group of a soccer players that include England internationals Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes and Teddy Sheringham, Liverpool great Ian Rush, Scotland’s Gary McAllister and former Manchester United stars Dwight Yorke, David May and Lee Sharpe.

    The golfing greats lined up to lead the way over the Blackstone Course include the legendary Gary Player, a nine-time Major winner, big-hitting John Daly, a two-time Major winner, Mark O’Meara, the Masters and Open Championship winner in 1998 and Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Championship title holder. They are joined by an equally impressive foursome of ladies in Solheim Cup star Suzann Pettersen, the Norwegian former World No. 2, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, runner-up at the recent U.S. Women’s Open, American Paula Creamer, the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open champion, and Natalie Gulbis, the glamour girl of the LPGA Tour who won the 2007 Evian Masters.

    Much like the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Alfred Dunhill Championship that for years has brought together celebrities from the world of sport and entertainment, the introduction of the Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am in 2010 filled that championship gap in Asia-Pacific.

    The participation of Douglas for the 2016 edition is a particular coupe as the golf fanatic is making his first visit to China for the event. “Playing golf alongside some of the best players in the world is going to be a tremendous experience,” said the two-time Oscar winner.

    Paul Scholes, who was part of “The Class of 1992” when Manchester United dominated the soccer world, has become an avid golfer since hanging up his boots after 19 stellar seasons at Old Trafford. He will participate in an exhibition soccer match featuring former greats from Manchester United, Liverpool and Barcelona versus pro soccer players from the Chinese Football Association.

    (SD-Agencies)