Kumho Tire hosts KLPGA tourney in China

The par-3 fourth hole at the Weihai Point Hotel & Golf Resort. Kumho Tire will host the KLPGA tournament on the course from July 3 to 5. / Courtesy of Kumho Tire

By Lee Hyo-sik

Kumho Tire, Korea’s leading tire maker, will sponsor the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) tournament in Weihai, Shandong Province, July 3-5 to promote exchanges in golf between Korea and China.

The event will be held at the Weihai Point Hotel & Golf Resort and feature top players from both the KLPGA and China Ladies Professional Golf Association (CLPGA). Kumho Tire has been sponsoring the tournament since 2013. The prize money totals 500 million won ($455,000) and the winner will receive 100 million won.

A total of 120 Korean and Chinese golfers, including Kim Hyo-joo, Jang Ha-na and Feng Shanshan, who all play on the LPGA, are expected to take part in the KLPGA 2015 Kumho Tire Women’s Open, the company said.

“It will be our third event this year since we began organizing the competition in 2013,” a Kumho Tire spokesman said. “We expect top KLPGA and CLPGA players to perform their best on the Weihai Point Golf Course. The event will be a good opportunity for golf fans in both Korea and China to experience the course through the players.”

The 18-hole golf course is par 72 and stretches 6,300 yards. It was built along the coastal line of Weihai. Kumho Tire acquired the course in 2006 and has turned it into one of the world’s premium golf clubs.

“The competition will attract thousands to the galleries from both Korea and China. It only takes about 45 minutes by plane from Incheon International Airport to Weihai,” said an official at the Weihai Point Ocean Side Golf & Resort. “It is not an easy course for amateurs, as players are required to hit the ball accurately all the time due to water hazards and an assortment of other obstacles. But many amateur Korean golfers who visited our course loved it. We hope more will come and enjoy what the course offers in the coming years.”