Ayodhya Links, Thailand to Host the 2016 World Club Championship
Bangkok, Thailand (November 24, 2015) - The World Club Championship Committee is honored to announce a new host of the Championship; one of the most exclusive courses in all of Asia, Ayodhya Links located in Ayutthaya, Thailand just outside Bangkok.
At Ayodhya Links December 4 - 9, 2016, 24 Club Champions from more than a dozen countries from around the world and a partner will represent their club invited from GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World 2015 list. The Championship is distinguished as the only event in golf that features head-to-head competition by the world’s top clubs chosen from GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 Courses in the World.
Ayodhya Links, ranked #76 by GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 2015, is a 7639 yard course flawlessly sculpted into a Championship golf course with natural rolling fairways, elevation changes, meandering streams and majestic lakes, dramatic shaped bunkers and undulating greens.
The tournament week will begin on Sunday, December 4 with an AM/AM with teams comprised of Ayodhya Links members, sponsors and 2016 competitors. They will play for the Merrins – Crow Plate which is a tribute to the 15 years of contribution by Chairman Emeritus Eddie Merrins and Referee Tom Crow. Monday will include a tour of Bangkok and Tuesday will be a practice round.
The three day tournament kicks off on Wednesday, December 7 for the First Round Qualifying Four Ball Stroke Play. On Thursday, the top four teams at the end of the Second Round Qualifying will compete in the Semi Final which is Match Play. Friday’s Chairman’s Stroke Play Winners will be invited back next year along with the Match Play Runners Up and the Championship team who will be awarded the Championship Trophy.
The World Club Championship began in 2002 as a way to celebrate two of golf’s greatest enduring traditions: amateur golfers and the world class Clubs to which they belong. Having solidified its position in the world as one of the premiere amateur tournaments, the World Club Championship is often compared to the Ryder Cup, Walker Cup and the President’s Cup by golf dignitaries, players and experts.
David V Smith, Golf Projects International Founder and the innovative creator of the concept for The World Club Championship, held this unique idea for years. It was only when he partnered with Korea’s Nine Bridges, who as a Club, had the same vision and passion for amateur golf. Together they established the World Club Championship to honor one of the oldest traditions in amateur golf, the Club Champion.
“The Championship has grown in stature around the world and club invitations have become more coveted. Future sites will vie for the opportunity to host this great amateur Championship,” predicts Smith. “Four countries have hosted the Championship including China, Mexico and the USA in addition to Korea. Next year, we welcome Thailand as another country host.”
Past champions include 2002 & 2007 Sunningdale Golf Club, England, 2004 Kingston Heath Golf Club, Australia, 2005 Royal Portrush Golf Club, Northern Ireland, 2006 & 2008 Pine Valley Golf Club, USA, 2009 Los Angeles Country Club, USA, 2011 Durban Country Club, South Africa, 2012 Seminole Golf Club, USA, 2013 Royal St. George’s Golf & Country Club, Canada, and the 2015 defending champion Oakmont Country Club, USA.
Automatic invitees for 2016 are current Champion Club, Oakmont Country Club, USA and 2015 Runners Up Olympic Club, USA, third place team Royal Melbourne, Australia along with Chairman’s Division Stroke Play Champion Club St. George’s Golf & Country Club, Canada.
The 2016 World Club Championship will be telecast throughout the world. The Golf Channel will air a one hour commercial free telecast following the tournament in December 2016. Sky Television will broadcast throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
