Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Shawn Johnson were among the competitors who made sports history in Beijing this summer. This week, an elite group of golfers has a chance to make some of their own.
From October 8-11, the sixth annual World Club Championship (WCC) takes place at Beijing's Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club. While this is the first trip to China for the WCC, it's no stranger to Asia. Four of the previous five events, including the 2007 edition, were contested at South Korea's Club at Nine Bridges. If the 2008 World Club Championship recreates the drama that unfolded last year, it will be a remarkable competition indeed.
Honoring one of the oldest traditions in amateur golf — the club champion — this unique event is comprised of 24 two-man teams from clubs featured on GOLF Magazine's Top 100 Courses in the World list. This year 12 countries are represented. To be eligible for selection, a course must have a club champion with a partner, both with handicaps of 3 or less.
American clubs represented in 2008 include Pine Valley, Merion, Oakmont, Winged Foot, Seminole, Medinah and Riviera. The celebrated international clubs sending a team include Royal Melbourne, Lahinch and Royal Dornoch.
Event founder David V. Smith explains, "The World Club Championship began in 2002 at Nine Bridges as a way to celebrate two of golf's greatest enduring traditions: Amateur golfers and the world-class clubs to which they belong. We look forward to having the event hosted by clubs around the world for generations to come."
Host to the 2008 event is the Pine Valley Golf Club and its adjacent Reignwood Resort. Situated 35 miles west of Beijing and within sight of the Great Wall, the club itself is the region's most exclusive, with its massive clubhouse a centerpiece. Adam Scott won the Asian Tour's Johnnie Walker Classic here in 2005 on the club's original course, now called the Golden Bear. The club's newer course is called the Nicklaus course. This year-old layout is more open and some 200 yards longer than its elder sibling, and will serve as an excellent test in this year's WCC for many of amateur golf's best. Look for the rock-fortified, island-green par-3 17th to be pivotal.
The defending champs are from England's Sunningdale Golf Club, who edged 2006 winners Pine Valley (U.S.A.) on the fifth playoff hole. Birdies and eagles were the norm, not the exception, at Nine Bridges' island-green, par-5 18th. Expectations are soaring even higher in 2008.
The event will be broadcast this fall on Golf Channel.
