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World golf stars to play in VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) hosted by Moscow Country Club
The Moscow Country Club, an affiliate of GlavUpDK under the MFA of Russia, will be hosting the international professional golf tournament, VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior), a stage of the European Tournament, on August 17-19, 2018. PJSC VTB Bank is the titular sponsor of the tournament.
The tournament will involve 54 best golfers from 20 countries, legendary players older than 50. The prize fund will amount to $500 000.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has sent greetings to the tournament organizers and players. “I cordially welcome the organizers and participants of the VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) and the traditional International Charity Golf Tournament. The competition organized by the Moscow Country Club, an affiliate of GlavUpDK under the MFA of Russia, is one of the most picturesque areas of the Moscow region, is bound to further popularization of this spectacular sport,” the greetings said.
The opening ceremony of the VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) and the 23rd International Charity Golf Tournament, in which amateurs will team up with professionals – champions and winners of national and world tournaments, will take place on August 16. Money raised by the Charity Tournament will be traditionally donated to funds helping children.
Irish professional golfer and Ryder Cup participant Ronan Rafferty will give a master class to juniors on the opening day.
The tournament will be held on August 17-19, and the award ceremony will take place on August 19.
VTB Russian Open Golf Championship (Senior) will be the only international professional golf tournament held in Russia in 2018.
The event is organized by the Moscow Country Club, the largest golf club in Russia. A professional 18-hole golf field of 7,174 yards was built in the early 1990s and harmoniously combined the remarkable landscape with international standards. The golf field was built by the exclusive design of the U.S. architectural dynasty of Trent Jones and is deemed to be one of the best in Europe.
The Russia Open tournament was founded in 1993. The first tournament was held at the Moscow Country Club.
This is the third time the club will host the Senior stage of the European Tournament (the previous events took place in 2013 and 2014).
“There is no doubt that the Moscow Country Club, an upscale golf resort and an acclaimed tournament venue, will doubtlessly appear to us in all splendor. We, Staysure Tour, are glad to come back to Russia for the first time since 2014: we seek to broaden game opportunities and organize exciting trips for top-notch golfers. I am grateful to GlavUpDK and the Moscow Country Club for enabling the athletes to visit not just the world-class golf resort but also the historic city of Moscow. I’d also like to thank PJSC VTB Bank, the titular sponsor of the tournament, which would not have happened without its support,” Staysure Tour head David McLaren said in his greetings.
The tournament traditionally attracts keen attention of golf fans due to the participation of professional golfers who won international fame with their professional career in U.S. and European tournaments and Ryder Cup.
PJSC VTB Bank is the titular sponsor of the tournament. Other partners are PJSC RESO Garantia, the international restaurant holding Ginza Project and the Moscow Country Club’s restaurants Klyushka and Klyushkin Plyazh, as well as the international car rental company AVIS, and the golf equipment manufacturer Titleist.
Gift certificates for winners of the 23rd International Charity Golf Tournament, which will be held in the Pro-Am format, will be provided by the chain of fitness clubs, X-Fit, and the clothes brand GANT. The SOGAZ Insurance Group will make a targeted donation as part of the International Charity Golf Tournament.
The general information partner of the Tournament is the golf portal "Golf.ru".
The tournament’s information partners are the television channels MATCH TV and 360, the international news agency Rossiya Segodnya, the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, the magazines Esquire, City Magazine, and Sport Business Consulting, the golf portal Golf.MIR, and the Internet portals Mir Vpechatleniy and sobytiye.ru.
About the Moscow Country Club
The Moscow Country Club is a beloved vacation spot of the diplomatic community. The 120-hectare gated nature area accommodates a five-star hotel and cottages.
Guests have access to a beach, an equestrian area, a mini golf, restaurants, bars, a zoo, and a large sport complex with an indoor pool, gyms, tennis and badminton courts, a tanning salon, and saunas.
This is the biggest world-class golf club in Russia by the number of members, featuring a championship field open to players and trainees. The Moscow Country Club’s golf club has the biggest membership in Russia.
The Moscow Country Club is a winner of the international 2017 World Golf Award held by the authoritative World Travel Awards. The country club was declared the best golf hotel in Russia.
This year the Moscow Country Club runs for the World Golf Award in two nominations: the Best Golf Hotel and the Best Golf Field.
The Moscow Country Club joined European Tour Destinations in July 2018. This is the only golf hotel in Russia aligned to European Tour Destinations, a global network of the most prestigious golf resorts of Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and now Russia. European Tour Destinations golf clubs traditionally stand high in the global ranking and host world tournaments, including Ryder Cup and World Cup. The network comprises 28 golf resorts in 21 countries.
