PGA Tour all set for Malaysia visit

CIMB Group was on Tuesday announced as the title sponsor for the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, Malaysia, the first ever PGA Tour sanctioned event in Southeast Asia.

This premier golf tournament will be held from the 28 to 31 October 2010 at The MINES Resort & Golf Club and will see a top class international field of 40 players competing for a US$6 million prize purse, with US$1 million going to the winner.

The tournament will feature the top 25 available players from the PGA Tour's final FedEx Cup standings and the top 10 available Asian players. Five sponsor exemptions will make up the rest of the field, with at least one place reserved for a Malaysian professional. There will be no halfway cut for the event and as such all players will play all four days of golf.


"We are excited to be sponsoring the most important sporting event in the region this year and the biggest golf tournament Malaysia has ever hosted. We are making this major investment because golf has huge appeal among our key customer segments across the region and the title sponsorship of such a major global event will help grow the CIMB brand", said Dato' Sri Nazir Razak, Group Chief Executive, CIMB Group.

"We have been searching for the right opportunity to get into golf. Well we have now found it because it doesn't get better for us than via the first ever PGA TOUR sanctioned tournament in Southeast Asia," he further added.

Speaking at the signing ceremony today, Nazir added that CIMB will hold regional tournaments in the four countries that it operates in - Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

"The regional tournaments are meant to identify the best professional player the region has to offer, and to give them the opportunity (through a sponsor's exemption) to compete with the world's best. We will deploy our entire regional network to make the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic a major Southeast Asian event," he explained.

"We will be involving our clients across the region, by giving them the opportunity to enjoy the first class hospitality at the tournament and also to partake in events such as the pre-tournament pro-am and a corporate golf day the day-after the Tournament. We are planning a number of feeder tournaments amongst our clients across the region" added Nazir.

The sponsorship agreements were signed by Dato' Sri Nazir and Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew (Founder of the Mines) on behalf of CIMB Group and PGA Promotions Sdn Bhd respectively. Terms of the seven year deal were not disclosed.

Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew expressed his thanks to CIMB, "Sponsorship is the lifeblood of sports and to have a leading corporate like CIMB so closely involved provides massive impetus for the event. This is a great day for Malaysian Golf and I applaud CIMB for taking this initiative. CIMB's title sponsorship of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic not only increases the visibility of the event but illustrates the excellent business opportunities available for companies to invest in Malaysian sports events.

"I am confident that this partnership will produce an excellent golfing tournament and that Malaysia will be showcased on the world stage as a choice destination for golf and sports events".

Keld Kristiansen, Executive Chairman of event organiser and promoter Carbon Worldwide, expressed his excitement of the venture, "The CIMB Asia Pacific Classic will be a world class event and a permanent fixture on the PGA TOUR calendar in the years to come. We look forward to welcoming the best players in the world to the Mines and to Malaysia for what will be the largest golf tournament the ASEAN region has ever seen."

Details on the tournament including players, fringe activities, sponsors and partners will be announced closer to the date.

espn

Posted by OM on 5:19 PM. Filed under Breaking News, CIMB Classic .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0