Malaysia will host first-ever US PGA Tour event in the region
Breaking News, CIMB Classic 5:14 PM Text Size : [+] | [-]
The US PGA Tour and the Asian Tour agreed yesterday to the staging of the tournament for an initial period of seven years.
The US$6mil prize money is three times more than the amount offered at the Malaysian Open and the Iskandar Johor Open, thus making it the richest tournament in South-east Asia.
The champion will receive US$1mil while each player is assured of at least US$50,000.
The 40-man field will feature the top 25 players from the PGA Tour’s final FedEx Cup standings and the top 10 available players from the Asian Tour money list.
At least one Malaysian professional will be guaranteed a place in the field and there will be five sponsor exemptions.
The competition dates will be announced later.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced the hosting of the prestigious tournament at the Mines here yesterday.
He said it was a dream come true for Malaysia to host a PGA Tour event.
“On a personal note, there are a few things that I want to see happen. One of it was having the US PGA Tour event played in Malaysia. I can announce now that it will become a reality next year,” he said at the launch.
“The returns will be tremendous not only from the sports aspect but also for tourism. I am told that the television audience alone will be 420 million spread over 200 countries and in 35 different languages.”
The Mines Resort and Golf Club, who hosted the 1999 World Cup that featured world No. 1 Tiger Woods, will be assured of a quality field.
Based on this year’s rankings, Malaysia could well see the likes of Woods, Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Sean O’Hair, Zach Johnson, Padraig Harrington, Heath Slocum, Kenny Perry and Scott Verplank in the fray. They are among the top 10 in the current standings.
“We could also see some of the legends among the senior golfers like Tom Watson and Greg Norman making their way here,” said Najib.
The PGA Tour and Asian Tour are the organisers of the event, in partnership with Carbon Worldwide and PGA Promotions of Malaysia.
PGA Tour vice-president Mathew Rapp said: “This is indeed very exciting for the PGA Tour to be able to venture into South-east Asia, an opportunity made possible through the commitment shown by the Malaysian government.”
Tuesday December 8, 2009 / By S. RAMAGURU
Posted by OM
on 5:14 PM.
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