2025/10/7

The ThreeBond Advanced Challenge Tour, with a total purse of NT$1.1 million, will tee off tomorrow (October 8) at Hsin Yi Golf Club in Kaohsiung. This marks the eighth consecutive year that Advanced International Group has been the title sponsor of a men’s professional golf tournament in Taiwan. It is also the seventh stop of this year’s ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour. Lee Jui-shen will seek his third victory of the year, while Lin Ta-yu will aim for his second.

The champion’s prize is NT$250,000 (originally NT$150,000, with an additional NT$100,000 provided for the fourth consecutive year by Chairman Lin Chao-hsien of Pei Kai Co.), while the runner-up will receive NT$75,000 and third place NT$50,000. The tournament is played over 36 holes in two rounds without cuts, and prize money will be awarded to the top 40 finishers after the second round.

A total of 90 players, including 80 professionals and 10 amateurs, will compete in this 36-hole event. As the seventh and third-to-last stop of the ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour this season, the field will be looking to secure or improve their standings on the annual Challenge Tour money list, striving for the Order of Merit title and the additional bonuses offered to the top three players of the year.

Lee Jui-shen has already won two titles on the ThreeBond Challenge Tour this year and will be going for his third this week. Lin Ta-yu, who has captured one Challenge Tour victory, will aim for his second, while Tsai Kai-jen, the champion of last week’s CHAU-SHI Series – Wealthy Family Open, will seek back-to-back wins.

An 18-hole pro-am tournament was held today, featuring 15 professional players and 45 amateur participants. The weather was clear, the course conditions were excellent, and all guests enjoyed a day of golf.

Advanced International Group President Cheng Hsi-kun said during the luncheon that, including previous years’ joint sponsorships, Advanced has supported the ThreeBond Challenge Tour for eleven consecutive years. He added that southern courses such as Hsin Yi Golf Club account for nearly half of TPGA tournaments each year, reflecting the strong enthusiasm of southern Taiwan’s golf community for professional events. He also mentioned that the weather in Kaohsiung will be favorable over the next few days and expressed his hope that players will perform well.

Advanced International Group co-hosted the ThreeBond Advanced Fushing Challenge Tour with Taiwan Fushing Industrial Co., Ltd. in September 2018. From 2019 onward, Advanced has served as the sole title sponsor, marking eight consecutive years of sponsorship.

For the amateur champion, prizes include five dozen SRIXON Z-STAR XV balls sponsored by DUNLOP (Kokuzumi Co.) and an OMNIX golf bag provided by Shang Chung International Co., Ltd.

The top three amateur players will each receive a TaylorMade Golf Qi 35 driver provided by Advanced International Group.

The course measures 7,510 yards. To increase the challenge, the rough has been grown longer and the greens are faster, testing the players’ precision in both ball striking and putting.

In tomorrow’s first round, players will start simultaneously from the first and tenth tees. The first group will tee off at 6:20 a.m., the last group at 8:45 a.m., with play expected to conclude before 2:00 p.m.

During the tournament, special prizes will be offered. For hole-in-one prizes: (1) On holes 3, 6, 13, and 17, Hsin Yi Golf Club will award NT$20,000 per ace and the existing sponsored prizes for each hole. This applies to professionals only, with no limit on recipients. (2) Advanced International Group will provide NT$100,000 to the first player, professional or amateur, who makes a hole-in-one on any par-3 hole during the two rounds on October 8 and 9. If no hole-in-one is made, the NT$100,000 will be donated to TPGA as a golf development fund. (3) On the 17th hole, Tung Hui Watch Co. will sponsor an ORIS watch valued at NT$122,800, to be awarded to the first professional player making a hole-in-one during the two rounds.

Each round’s lowest score prize is NT$30,000, provided by Chairman Wang Fu-chung of Haijie International Co., Ltd. In case of a tie, the prize will be shared. Both professionals and amateurs are eligible.

A second-shot nearest-to-the-pin prize is also offered by Advanced International Group. During the two rounds, the professional player whose second shot lands closest to the pin on the 9th hole will receive NT$20,000.

Breaking the course record (the official record of 63, held by amateur Chen Chi-chun) will earn a bonus of NT$20,000 provided by the club.

Advanced International has also prepared special gifts from the century-old pastry brand Chiu Zhen Nan for all guests and players, as a token of southern Taiwan’s warm hospitality.

ThreeBond, a Japanese multinational manufacturer of professional adhesives, has long supported former TPGA President and current Challenge Tour Executive Director Chen Chih-chung for over thirty years. This marks the eleventh year of ThreeBond’s title sponsorship of the TPGA Challenge Tour, which continues to include nine tournaments this season.

Chairman Lin Jui-chang of Taiwan Fushing Industrial Co., Ltd. has once again offered a total bonus of NT$2 million for the top three players on the annual money lists of both the Taiwan Tour and the ThreeBond Challenge Tour, awarding NT$500,000, NT$300,000, and NT$200,000 respectively.

Spectators are welcome to attend by registering at the clubhouse, paying a NT$30 facility maintenance fee, and obtaining a spectator pass. Walking is restricted to cart paths only, and the use of golf carts or shuttle service between holes is not provided. For safety reasons, children under six years of age and pets are not permitted on the course.