2009 Special Olympics International Golf Tournament was held at Pei Tou Kuo Hua Golf and Country Club, Taipei, Taiwan from October 12 to October 16, 2009. 10 teams of 49 leading Special Olympics athletes from all over the world met in Taipei and competed together.

Honored guests, including Mr. Bai Hsiu-Hsiung, Tournament President and Chairman of Special Olympics Chinese Taipei; Mr. Hau Lung-bin, Taipei City Mayor and Honorary Vice President for the Tournament; Ms. Anna Chan, Managing Director of Special Olympics East Asia; Ms. Eily Ho, Tournament Chairman and numerous government officials attended the Opening Ceremony.

Taipei City Mayor, Mr. Hau Lung-bin showed the warm support for 2009 Special Olympics International Golf Tournament athletes

Five of Taiwan's top LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) pros playing in the US - Yani Tseng, Teresa Lu, Candie Kung, Amy Hung and Yu Ping Lin presented at the tournament to give demonstrations, offer advice, and share their experience with the athletes.

Tournament Chairman-Ms. Eily Ho, five of Taiwan's top LPGA pros and SO Chinese Taipei athletes

Foreign athletes who have come to Taiwan to take part in the Tournament are all top Special Olympics golf players. South Africa's Thomas Lugg and Ireland's Oliver Doherty, who are taking part in the Level 5 competition, won gold medals at Level 5 in the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2003 and 2007 respectively; the battle between these two outstanding players is really exciting.

Athletes from Denmark and South Africa (Left to right: Denmark athlete - Troels Hoibjerre , South Africa - Thomas Lugg and Denmark athlete - Tom Petersen)

SO Chinese Taipei athlete Chen Shouhao

Awarding ceremony

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Bai mentioned, "The experience of participating in the Special Olympics and other sports events can help intellectual disabilities and their families become more independent. Sports not only improve their physical health but also develop skills that they can use throughout their lives. It especially encourages people to become more outward-looking, while the applause the athletes receive helps boost their self-confidence. I hope that the holding of this event will give people in Taiwan a better understanding of Special Olympics, and that it will encourage more families with intellectual disabilities to stop hiding from the society and try to find more vehicles to develop their potential."

During four days of the tournament, the Special Olympics athletes competed in Level 1, Level 4 and Level 5 (the highest level), with Level 1 covering Individual Skills such as short putt, long putt, pitching, chipping, wood shot and iron shot. Level 4 is a 9-hole Individual Stroke Play Competition, while Level 5, the highest level, is an 18-hole Individual Stroke Play Competition.

Ms Eily Ho celebrates the hole-in-one with South Africa player Thomas Lugg

In the Level 5 competition, the highest level competition in the Tournament, many of the competitors have single-figure handicaps. Their performance left the audience deeply impressed. Yani Tseng and Candie Kung said that they had both learned a lot from observing the concentration and outstanding technique that these Special Olympics golfers displayed. South Africa player Thomas Lugg made a hole-in-one during the tournament. He also won first place in the Level 5 competition.