Deputy chairman and general secretary of Việt Nam Golf Association Vũ Nguyên is an official referee at the prestigious Open Championship in England. Photo golfnet.vn

HÀ NỘI — Deputy chairman and general secretary of Việt Nam Golf Association (VGA), Vũ Nguyên is one of the official referees at the prestigious Open Championship in England this weekend.

The tournament, which has a long history, is the last major of the year currently taking place at Royal Liverpool Golf Course featuring many world-class golf superstars.

This is the first time in history that a Vietnamese referee has been appointed to the R&A Rules Committee and involved in managing the world's most prestigious golf tournament, the Open Championship.

At the tournament, Nguyên will have the opportunity to work with over 60 of the world's top referees from major tours such as Gary Young (head of referees for the PGA Tour), Andy McFee, and Kevin Feeney from the DP World Tour, referees from the Japan Golf Tour, KPGA Tour, and other top referees from countries and golf associations around the world.

Nguyên began studying golf law in 2015 and became a referee. He dreamed of one day becoming a referee at the Open tournament and now it has come true.

The Open Championship is the biggest tournament Nguyên has had the opportunity to referee, as it is the oldest major with the participation of the world's top golfers.

"Being the representative for the Asia-Pacific region and the first Vietnamese referee to participate in managing an Open championship is truly an honour and pride for me as well as for Vietnamese golf referees," he said.

"The experiences at this major tournament will be an opportunity for me to learn and bring that knowledge and experience back to apply to tournaments in Việt Nam, contributing to the development of golf in the country in the process of integration and reaching international standards." VNS