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Crowne Plaza Open moves to Yalong Bay

The Crowne Plaza Open will be staged for the first time at Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan island, China starting on Thursday, with the China event marking the resumption of the second half of the 2006 Asian Tour season.

Following the success of its first two editions in 2004 and 2005 where it was staged in Shanghai and Beijing, the Crowne Plaza Open, which offers total prize money of US$200,000, will be played at a venue which has previously hosted several Asian Tour events.

Yalong Bay staged the Sanya Open in 2003 and 2004, won by Australians Marcus Both and Terry Pilkadaris respectively. Pilkadaris, presently 14th on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit, was also the inaugural Crowne Plaza Open winner two years ago.

A return to the Robert Trent Jones Jnr-designed golf course, which has also played host to the co-sanctioned TCL Classic for the past two years, will certainly raise Pilkadaris' hopes of a third victory in China.

Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng has signed up to defend his title and the man he defeated in a play-off, the talented Both, will also return for another crack at the Crowne Plaza Open title.

Last year, Prayad holed a lengthy 16-foot birdie putt the first hole of extra time to claim his fifth Asian Tour title, and his first since 2000.

Joining the fray in this year’s Crowne Plaza Open will be Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand, who holds the most number of Asian Tour victories with eight titles. The reigning Order of Merit champion is riding on good form after finishing a commendable tied 31st in the British Open at Royal Liverpool in July.

After his impressive feat at the Open, Thaworn has expressed his intentions to start winning again after a barren spell so far on the Asian Tour this season.

Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin expressed his delight that the Crowne Plaza Open was being staged for a third time. “The Crowne Plaza Open has been a welcome addition onto the Asian Tour Schedule.

"The first two tournaments were staged successfully with Terry Pilkadaris breaking through for his first Asian Tour title in 2004 and Prayad Marksaeng achieving success last year after an exciting duel with Marcus Both.

"With another starry line-up in place for the third edition this week, I am confident that golf fans in China will be treated to yet another thrilling and exciting week of golf.

“On behalf of the Asian Tour, I would like to thank Crowne Plaza for their support towards Asian golf and we hope that they will continue to assist in the development of the professional game and continue to provide Asian Tour players with a platform to compete against each other,” said Martin.

Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts and the China Professional Golf Association (CPGA) have played big roles in developing golf in the Middle Kingdom and with the top players heading to Yalong Bay Golf Club, more excitement is on the cards.

A total of 144 players will compete at the event, which will be the 17th leg on the 2006 Asian Tour calendar.

August 14, 2006