Double A strengthens Thailand's involvement tour

The Double A International Open will make its debut in Bangkok in November, propelling golf-loving Thailand as the nation with the second most number of events on the burgeoning Asian Tour.

In a signing ceremony today, the Asian Tour and the event's title sponsor, Advance Agro Public Co., Ltd, the company that produces the Double A brand of office paper sold in 60 countries around the world, concluded an agreement to launch Thailand's newest golf tournament.

The Double A International Open, which will offer total prize money of US$300,000, has the full support from the country's leading stars including current Order of Merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant, Boonchu Ruangkit and Thongchai Jaidee, last year's Asian Tour number one.

The inaugural event will be played from November 17-20, taking up its position towards the tail-end of the Asian Tour season. The organisers will announce the venue in due course.

Double A intends to expand the profile of its first venture into professional golf by throwing in its full financial backing, said Advance Agro Public Co., Ltd Executive Vice President – Marketing Khun Charnvit Jarusombathi.

"Over the years, Thailand has produced many great champions such as Boonchu Ruangkit, Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant and the timing was simply perfect for Double A to launch the inaugural Double A International Open," said Charnvit.

With the event's birth, Thailand is now only behind China in terms of hosting the most number of tournaments on the Asian Tour. There will be four events in Thailand this season while China will host seven on the mainland.

Charnvit added that the new event could provide fresh impetus for the growth of professional golf in Thailand and unearth new talents in the mould of upcoming star Prom Meesawat, a regular on the Asian Tour.

"We hope that this new and exciting event will result in more top-class players emerging from Thailand. Our company is committed towards the long-term development of this event and we will put in every effort with the Asian Tour to make it a grand success," he said.

Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin was delighted to welcome on board another new event in Thailand, which already boasts of other top tournaments such as the Thai Airways International Thailand Open, Bangkok Airways Open and the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia.

"The launch of a new golf tournament is always very exciting and the Asian Tour is confident that the Double A International Open will enjoy a successful start. Thai players have enjoyed enormous success across Asia's fairways and it is wonderful that they have the opportunity to perform on home soil more regularly this year.

"Sponsorship is the lifeblood of professional sport and through the commitment from key sponsors like Double A, professional golfers in Asia have the opportunity to perform at the highest level and provide us with world-class entertainment," said Martin.

With this year's inaugural event being slated towards the end of the season, Martin added that there would be a lot at stake for players in the running for the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.

"I'm sure the current money leader, Thaworn Wiratchant, will be one of the favourites to win the first Double A International Open and possibly replace Thongchai Jaidee as the Asian Tour number one.

"As it is positioned towards the end of the season, there will be a lot riding on the players to perform well if they harbour hopes of winning the Order of Merit crown," said Martin.

Leading Edge Sports, a Thai-based company, will be assisting the Asian Tour with the long-term development of the Double A International Open. Its Managing Director Lerdpol Bhakdibhumi said: "We are truly excited and thrilled to have an opportunity to develop a new event in Thailand alongside the Asian Tour and Double A. Golf in Thailand is enjoying enormous success and we hope to develop the Double A International Open into a top-class event."

This year, Thongchai successfully retained his Carlsberg Malaysian Open title in February while Thaworn claimed the Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open title in March.

Thaworn (pictured) and Thongchai currently occupy the top two spots on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, with compatriots Prayad Marksaeng and Chawalit Plaphol featuring inside the top-15 of the money ranking.

The Asian Tour will stage 28 tournaments this season with record prize money of US$20 million.

June 9, 2005

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