NISEKO NEWS
By Thomas Shomaker
The 2nd Annual The Jolly Fox International will take place on 5 – 9 August, drawing players from all over the world.
The Jolly Fox International’s inaugural year was created for international visitors following the reopening of tourism, and this year continues that tradition.
”We should have over 20 players, this year from Singapore, the U.S.A., Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong.
Michael ChenH2 Group Co-CEO
Last year, the Jolly Fox International started tight with three teams within two shots of the lead after the first round.
The team of Downer/Ratnavale, representing UK and Malaysia went low with a nine under par in the 2nd round scramble to take a five stroke lead on the field.
They hung on to win the tournament by five strokes.
Underscoring the popularity of The Jolly Fox and Niseko golf in general, over 50% of the field from the inaugural year is returning to play this year, along with many new players getting in on the action.
The tournament is designed to be competitive but also fun, with golfers from a wide range of levels from a “plus” handicap to a -40 handicap having competed together.
The Jolly Fox began during the Covid era, in the green season of 2020, when Niseko golfer Michael Chen, Co-CEO of the H2 Group, thought a community golf tournament would be the perfect, safe way to have social interaction.
Coined “the US Open of Niseko”, the Jolly Fox Niseko franchise was spawned out of the peak of COVID lockdowns in 2020 as locals used the opportunity to socialise on the wide-open fairways.
For the Jolly Fox Invitational tourney, which began the Jolly Fox tradition, two-person teams are made up of a fox (a low handicapper) and a mouse (a high handicapper). The unique random handicap pairing systems mean teams cannot rely solely on the skills of one golfer.
Together they compete in a 54-hole tournament across three different round formats – Best Ball, Scramble and Alternate Shot.
A ¥5 million hole-in-one and ¥1 million putting mini-competitions with prizes up for grabs are embedded along the way.
For more details go to The Jolly Fox website, and follow along with the action, outfits and antics on The Jolly Fox’s Facebook and Instagram channels.
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