TWO Chinese golfers have been invited by Mission Hills China to join its new scholarship program.

With funding from The R&A (one of professional golf’s two governing bodies), Jack Tong and Apple Zhang will receive year-round support towards their training and tournaments at the world’s largest golf facility in southern China.

A member of the Guangdong men’s team, Tong was born in Beijing but lives and goes to school in Shenzhen. The 15-year-old won the Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship at Mission Hills last month, beating his much-heralded compatriot, Kuang Yang. Born and raised in Shenzhen, Zhang qualified to represent China in the U.S. Kids World Championship in America aged just eight years old.

The talented duo will train at the recently-opened PGA of America Golf Academy at Mission Hills in Dongguan under the guidance of Kevin Smeltz, a member of Golf Magazine’s Top 100 Teachers for the past eight years.

Tong and Zhang will also play a full schedule of tournaments on the Mission Hills Junior Golf Program sponsored by EFG Bank, including the monthly Mission Hills Junior Series.

Tenniel Chu, Mission Hills Group vice chairman, said: “Since my late father founded Mission Hills 25 years ago, my family has been fully committed to growing golf in China. We have invested millions of dollars into youth development and more than 100,000 competitive rounds have been played by junior golfers at Mission Hills. This announcement is another exciting chapter in our long relationship with The R&A, dating back to when Mission Hills hosted the first Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2009.”

The scholarship program was announced during a press conference Wednesday for the Dongguan Open, which lasts from Thursday to Sunday.

A total of 156 players from 22 countries and regions will compete in the Dongguan Open, which is being played at the Norman Course at Mission Hills Dongguan.

The Norman Course is considered by all who visit to be the toughest of the lot. Considered one of the strongest tests of golf not only at Mission Hills but in all of Asia, the front-9 plays through dramatic mountain ridges that frame each hole, while the back-9 opens up into one of the lush valleys of the region.(SD-Agencies)