Volvo China Open heads to Topwin as championship returns to Beijing

China's own open championship - the Volvo China Open - is to be staged for the 22nd time next spring, from April 28 to May 1.The new host venue will be Topwin Golf and Country Club in Beijing, and this will be the first time that the tournament has been back to its birthplace, by the Great Wall of China, in seven years.

"As golf rejoins the Olympic Games in 2016, the Volvo China Open will be a perfect opportunity for Chinese players to experience world-class competition in the run-up to Rio," said Zhang Xiaoning, director general of Multi-Ball Games Administrative Centre of General Administration of Sport, and the vice president of the China Golf Association, which have been Volvo's partners for more than twenty years.

"We are thrilled that Volvo is bringing the 22nd Volvo China Open back to Beijing. It seems a very fitting venue, and we are all very proud of the history of our national open," he said.

Volvo was the first Western brand to engage with golf in China in 1995, and this, the open championship of China, is the country's longest-running professional golf tournament.

It is also the first Chinese golf tournament to have been broadcast worldwide. It has been a part of the European tour since 2004; since then its global influence has steadily grown.

Beijing was home to the first three events starting in 1995, and has now hosted the Volvo China Open on no fewer than six occasions.

Zhou Zhichang, the general manager of Topwin Golf and Country Club, said to host China's open championship is the greatest possible honor.

"We are very much looking forward to working together with both Volvo and the European Tour during the coming months," Zhou said.

Per Ericsson, president of Volvo Event Management, said Topwin Golf and Country Club will be an excellent test, and it follows the principle of moving the event around China.

"The Volvo China Open has many great memories from Beijing - it started here in 1995, has hosted the championship six times, and is coming back after a break of seven years. It is also, of course, a very important area for Volvo's businesses. The Volvo China Open will be held alongside the Beijing Motor Show, and this underlines just what an important market Beijing is," Ericsson said.

The Volvo China Open will be Volvo's 85th tournament on the European Tour.

The prize fund is 20 million yuan, (approximately $3.2 million). The tournament is organized by the China Golf Association with Volvo Event Management as co-organizers and promoter, and is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and OneAsia.