Tiger, Rory pass on tips to Juniors in China at Mission Hills Haikou

HAIKOU, Hainan, Oct. 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy spent time this morning coaching and passing on valuable advice to members of the China National Junior Team and the Mission Hills Golf Series Junior Tour as part of the duo's time on the practice range before The Match at Mission Hills.

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The two super-stars passed on some tips on swing technique and game strategy to the 120 youngsters aged between 8 and 17, who had assembled on the driving range at Mission Hills Haikou on China's Hainan Island.

Woods, a golfing prodigy from an early age, won three US Junior Amateur titles and two of his three US Amateur titles when he was in his teens, so was keen to share his advice about balancing practice with enjoyment:

"They are very good players with very good fundamentals and swings. It's all about experience and trying to learn every time you go to the golf course and try to get better every time. They hit the ball very well, but golf is not all about that, it's about getting out on the course, shooting scores and knowing your way around the golf course." 

"I just hope they enjoy it, have fun doing it, have fun trying to do it a little bit better and enjoy the competition part," added Woods.

McIlroy, who also enjoyed success from an early age and rose to the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking in his teens, added: "I think every year we come back to China, the development of junior golf gets better and better, and I'd love to come back to help the development of golf in China.

Junior Golf Development continued to remain at the heart of Mission Hills' golf strategy. In 2013, Mission Hills will host 36 junior tournaments involving 3,500 rounds of junior golf with golfers representing 30 different countries. In January this year, in a move widely praised by the international golfing community, Mission Hills announced that three of its courses would be open to golfers under the age of 16 on a free of charge basis.