Day One of the 2011 World Club Championship
May 16, 2011
Seoul, South Korea - The 2011 World Club Championship, kicked off the week-long event with a member player at Haesley Nine Bridges located just outside of Seoul, Korea. Haesley is the newest golf venture of Jay H. Lee, the owner of The Club at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, Korea where the first WCC was held in 2002. Because of his dedication to the WCC and his support of amateur golf, the players compete this week for the WCC Jay H. Lee Trophy which is named after Mr. Lee.
Teams and Members and VIP guests gathered today at Haesley in the Award Winning Designed Clubhouse for lunch. A full field of 20 teams who had all arrived safely over the weekend, eagerly began a shotgun start at noon where the weather was ideal in the low 70's. Teams were paired with Members of Nine Bridges for a better two ball tournament. But first they were treated to a state-of-the-art five-person golf cart run on remote control maneuvered by a caddie. The carts needed to stay on the cart path so all players essentially walked the course.
After five hours of play, all were duly impressed with the course layout at Haesley. Comments ranged from "it's a challenging course full of surprises" to "one of the best manicured courses I've seen" to "awesome" enthused from the younger players. All were in full agreement that the scenery along the course was outstanding.
The Reignwood Pine Valley team from Beijing China of Yu Fu and Gui Huang paired with the Haesley host team of Chris Kown and Se-Ho Kim were awarded first place. Durban Country Club players Murray Gilson and Michael Hollick from South Africa paired with members Jin Jan Byun and Gyeong-Hwan Han placed second. In third place, Alan Evans and James McMillan of the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia paired with members Dae-Hyun You and Young-June Lee.
The Official Opening Dinner followed cocktails on the patio overlooking the sun-setting on the course. An elaborate 5-course dinner along with entertainment, introductions and camaraderie gave all teams, players and VIP guests a chance to celebrate the start of the WCC. The WCC Charter was read by the defending champions Los Angeles Country Club which officially begins the tournament!
