From 22^nd to 24^th, July, 2016, the most talented young golfers of Vietnam will gather at one of the best golf courses in the world – The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip, Xuyen Moc, Ba Ria Vung Tau – where they will join talented young golders from around the world to vie for the Vietnam Golf Association’s Vietnam Junior Open 2016 (VJO 2016).

On this occasion, the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) partnered with the Organizer of the most world’s most prestigious junior golf championship worldwide – The Faldo Series – in order to choose the nation’s five best young players for the Final Round of the 11^th Asian Championship, to be held in March 2017 at the Laguna Lang Co golf course, near Hue.

The annual VJO championship is is promising to be more exciting than ever this year, with a field extended to include players from around the region.  The large field will see over 80 juniors tee off at the course that was last year voted Vietnam’s best.

The VGA will also announce the Vietnam National Golf Team and plans to use the VJO 2016 as a means to find new talent for the National Golf Team, which aims to enable the team to attend tournaments regionally, including at the SEA Games 2017 in Malaysia.

VJO 2016 will see both male and female juniors take to the links, and will see players born after 1 January 1998 go head to head in a field that allows representatives of all nations to play in a single pool, part of the vision of the VGA to drive the standard of local golf by increasing the standard of competition to which players are exposed.

Meanwhile, Vietnam Faldo Series qualifying round will be only for junior Vietnamese male and female golfers aged from 12-21.

While the VJO itself is only for juniors, the  Faldo Series extends to include players up to 21, further enhancing the field, and seeing The Bluffs host a number of the country’s most prominent junior players.

Among male golfers, the most recognizable face in the field will be Truong Chi Quan, who has been the champion three times in-a-row in the Vietnam Junior Open 2016, also held by Vietnam Golf Association in Da Lat from 23-26 June.

Turning 18 this year, Quan is widely recognized as Vietnam’s best junior golfer. Certainly his presence will encourage other competitors to compete at their best. However, Truong Chi Quan once again after VAO 2016 will have to prove himself among international golfers from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and especially Thailand, ensuring Quan will need to be on his A-Game to succeed.

The Asian Tour has come to the VJO party as well, offering a slot on the Asian Development Tour in Asia for the best performing player at this year’s VJO.

Meanwhile, there is a fierce competition among the women golfers group with the notable presence of four junior women golfers in Vietnam who impressed Vietnamese golf lovers at the professional KLPGA The Dalat at 1200 last March. It was Nguyen, Thao My (18), Hanako, Kawasaki (17 years), Tran, Chieu Duong (16) and overseas Vietnamese Australian golfer Amy Chu, Thuy Tien (16)

LEAGUE TABLE

• League Table in VJO 2016 will be divided by genders and ages.

Man Golfers will participate in 5 divided-by-age leagues:

League A – for golfers under 8 years old.

League B – for golfers from 9 to 11 years old.

League C – for golfers from 12 to 13 years old.

League D – for golfers from 14 to 15 years old.

League E – for golfers from 16 to 18 years old.

Woman Golfers will participate in 5 divided-by-age leagues:

League A – for golfers under 9 years old.

League B – for golfers from 10 to 12 years old.

League C – for golfers from 13 to 15 years old.

League D – for golfers from 16 to 18 years old.

• The league’s tournament system of the first qualifying round Vietnam Faldo Series will also be divided by genders and ages, and only for Vietnamese athletes.

Man Golfers will be divided in 3 leagues:

Faldo U16: for golfers from 12 to 15 years old.

Faldo U18: for golfers from 16 to 18 years old.

Faldo U21: for golfers from 19 to 21 years old.

Woman Golfers will be divided in 3 leagues:

Faldo U16: for golfers from 13 to 15 years old.

Faldo U18: for golfers from 16 to 21 years old.

(For more detailed information on how to split the table in VJO 2016, please visit the official website of the Vietnam’s Golf Association: http://vga.com.vn/files/vjo2016/VJO2016_Dieu_le_thi_dau.pdf)

All of the Group will compete over 3-rounds. The League A will play 9 holes/round, the remaining Leagues will play 18 holes/round. There will be a cut of 50% of the golfers after the 2nd round at all the Leagues.

Prize Structure

In the Vietnam Junior Open 2016, the Prizes include:

1. VJO 2016’s championship: for both Vietnamese and international golfers have Best Gross. This does not include golfers in League A for both men and women.
2. The 1^st and 2^nd-ranked title
3. Vietnam Championship title: for Vietnamese golfers having best achievement.

Qualifying for the Vietnam Faldo Series Asia Grand Final 11th, held at Laguna Lang Co – Hue in May 3^rd, 2017, will be given to the players meeting two conditions: winning U21, U18 and U16 Men’s Championship and the U21 and U16 Women’s Championship; with a final stroke count no higher than 231 (+18).

 (For more information, please visit official website of VGA: www.vga.com.vn)

The combination of prominent local and international golfers ensures that fans can expect that the Open 2016 at The Bluffs Ho Tram will be at the center of Vietnam’s golfing development, and helping to raise the bar by finding and developing new talent in the country.

The VGA would like to thank the generous support of its sponsors, including Golden Sponsor Titleist, the American world-leader in golf equipment.  The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip will sponsor the course for the tournament. Moreover, the tournament has also attracted many other notable sponsors such as Do Thanh Automotive Group, Blue Scope Steel Group, Nova Land Real Estate Group…

The Vietnam Junior Open 2016 will be under the auspices of information from Vietnam’s leading media agencies such as VTC, HTV, Thanh Nien Newspapers, Tuoi Tre Newspapers, VnExpress online publicationMoreover, information of the tournament will be updated regularly on the official website of Vietnam Golf Association at: www.vga.com.vn

Vietnam Golf Association