新浪体育讯　kou, Hainan, China] March 18, 2010 – Mission Hills continues itsdynamic role at the forefront of the golf boom in China with the launch of theMission Hills Star Trophy, a ground-breaking Celebrity Pro-Am tournament featuringseveral of the biggest names in entertainment and sports and the richest individualprize in Asian golf.

Headlining the inauguralevent, to be played from October 28-31 at the newly launched Mission HillsResort Hainan, will be international movie stars and celebrity golfers HughGrant and Matthew McConaughey.

Two-time Open Championshipwinner Greg Norman, China’s multiple Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Li Ningand Japan’s #1 comedian and talk show host Akashiya Sanma will serve as HostAmbassadors for the Mission Hills Star Trophy.

The professional segment ofthe event will feature 20 male and female professional golfers competing for a‘winner takes all’ prize of US$1.28 million, the richest individual prize inAsian golf.

Norman and China’s golfing trailblazerZhang Lian-wei, both of whom attended today’s launch, will participate in theMission Hills Star Trophy, along with the 2010 Ryder Cup captains for bothEurope and United States, Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin, respectively.

The professional field willalso include two of the game’s biggest female superstars, Annika Sorenstam andSe Ri Pak.

Norman said both fun and seriousgolf will be part of the Star Trophy experience. The time is right for Asia tocreate an event that combines golf and entertainment. The world sees theimportance of the China market to their future and look forward to coming tothe Mission Hills Star Trophy

As a golfer, the‘winner takes all’ of a US$1.28 million first-place cheque will ensure that theevent is both exciting and features high-calibre golf headed.

Bringing togetherHollywood’s A-list, international stars and leading professional golfers, thetournament is destined to be Asia’s leading annual entertainment event.

Said Tenniel Chu, ExecutiveDirector, Mission Hills China, ’Since the founding of Mission Hills in 1992, wehave led the way in the development of China’s luxury golf and lifestyleculture. The creation of the truly unique Mission Hills Star Trophy at our newHainan development is the logical extension of that commitment and expertise.’

‘Bringing together thestars that we will announce in the coming months, in Asia’s premier lifestyleevent is another indication of our determination to help grow Hainan into an excitingleisure destination,’ added Chu.

The exclusive CelebrityPro-Am will be played at the Mission Hills Group’s world-class new golflifestyle development, Mission Hills Resort Hainan, which recently opened onthe tropical island of Hainan.

The Mission Hills StarTrophy is one of the first major events supporting a government-led initiativeto make the island a leading international tourism destination in the comingyears and reaffirm Mission Hills Resort Hainan as the world’s most memorablegolf resort.

McConaughey, who has playedoff a handicap as low as four in the past, said, ’Join me MatthewMcConaughey, on the lava fields of Hainan Island, China this October forgolf’s latest amazing adventure, the Mission Hills Star Trophy. See you on thelinks.’

Added Grant, who plays offa single-digit handicap, ‘Join me this October in China at the Mission HillsResort in Hainan for a golfing experience beyond your wildest dreams.’

The superstar participantswill be part of a field that includes 20 celebrities, 20professionals and 120 amateursat the four-day Mission Hills Star Trophy.  Amateur teams of three willplay with a celebrity or professional golfer on the first two days of the eventin a team scramble format.

The weekend play will thenbe in four-ball stroke play format between 20 teams consisting of a celebrityand a professional, with a 36-hole individual professional even turningconcurrently with the US$1.28 million prize.

The Mission Hills StarTrophy announcement came as part of the inaugural Haikou Golf& TourismForum, currently being held at Mission Hills Resort Hainan. Featuring golfingindustry heavyweights Greg Norman, Peter Dawson and Peter Walton as keynotespeakers, the first-time gathering welcomed hundreds of delegates and mediarepresentatives to the Mission Hills Group’s new flagship resort property.

Other high-profile Forumspeakers include Dr David Chu, Chairman of the Mission Hills Group, LuoBaoming, Governor of Hainan Province, Shao Qiwei, President of the ChinaNational Tourism Bureau, and Xu Jing, Director of the World TourismOrganisation Asia Pacific Section.

Mission Hills Hainanoccupies a vast lava rock-strewn landscape of undulating terrain punctuated byancient trees and sweeping wetlands near Haikou and is the sister facility tothe world-renowned Mission Hills Shenzhen.