Hidden Grace Golf Club. Volvo China Open

The Volvo China Open has been confirmed as the final piece in The International Series jigsaw for 2023.

Boasting a prize purse of $1.5 million, the event will take place from November 2-5 at Shenzhen’s Hidden Grace Golf Club — formerly known as Genzon Golf Club.

The Volvo China Open will act as the eighth leg of The International Series – 10 top-tier events sanctioned by the Asian Tour. The Hong Kong Open will follow a week later with the Indonesian Masters bringing down the curtain on the 2023 campaign from November 16-19.

The China showpiece will also mark a welcome return to the country for the Asian Tour, following a four-year absence. The Asian Tour’s last visit there was for the Volvo China Open in 2019.

Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour Commissioner & CEO, said: “We are thrilled to have the Volvo China Open back on our schedule. It will be our first visit to China since before the pandemic and I know our members are excited to be able to return there after such a long lay-off.

“Our thanks go to the China Golf Association, Volvo and the staff and management at Hidden Grace Golf Club.”

Zhang Xiaoning, President of the China Golf Association, added: “The Volvo China Open has consistently set the benchmark for tournament golf in China. It is a pioneering event that has made outstanding contributions to the development of golf in our country.

“This year will be no exception as the tournament has been upgraded to a stop on The International Series, and it will play a key role in preparations for the Paris Olympics after the Hangzhou Asian Games which we are now focusing on.”

Among the famous names inscribed on the Volvo China Open trophy are Korean Yang Yong-eun, Asia’s first Major championship winner, and European Ryder Cup players Paul Casey of England and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.

The winner of The International Series Order of Merit earning a starting spot in next year’s LIV Golf League. Following last month’s St Andrews Bay Championship in Scotland, the sixth leg of the 2023 International Series, American Andy Ogletree enjoys a handsome advantage atop the standings, almost $500,000 ahead of Japan’s Takumi Kanaya in second spot.

They are followed by Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, Australian Wade Ormsby and Thai Gunn Charoenkul. Rounding out the current top-10 are a handful of current LIV Golfers, including Indian Anirban Lahiri, Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra and Australian Matt Jones.

The International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah Country Club from October 5-8 will act as the seventh leg of this year’s Series.