David Chu, founder and chairman of Mission Hills, the world’s largest golfing facility, has died following a long battle with nasal cancer, the SCMP reported today. He was 61.
Often described as one of the most powerful men in the game, Chu, a Hong Kong native who invested on the Chinese mainland before the implementation of China’s “Open Door” policy, played his first round of golf in Toronto in the late 1980s. Inspired, the entrepreneur bought a sizeable piece of land to the north of Shenzhen and called in 18-time major legend Jack Nicklaus to design his first course, which hosted the World Cup in 1995.
Ten years later, Mission Hills overtook Pinehurst as the largest golf club in the world with the opening of the Norman Course, the resort’s 10th layout.
According to media reports, Chu’s funeral, which he requested be a simple affair, took place in Hong Kong this week.
Today, there are 12 courses at Mission Hills Shenzhen and another 10 courses at the group’s Haikou complex, which opened last year on Hainan Island. The World Cup will be played at the Haikou resort in November.
”My father is a pioneer,” said Chu’s son Ken, the Vice Chairman of Mission Hills, earlier this year. “He believed that golf would flourish in China … it was his vision that has made Mission Hills what it is today.”
Chu was also the chairman of two listed companies in Hong Kong, and in 2008 set up the Dr David Chu’s Care Fund for Orphans following the devastating Sichuan earthquake.
While no formal announcement has been made by the club, Ken Chu is expected to take over the chairmanship of the Mission Hills Group with immediate effect.