Bigger purses and new events in 2008 Asian Tour schedule

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said the core of the provisional 2008 Schedule is based upon the successful staging of a collection of established and long-running tournaments across the region.

Six events have raised their prize money significantly for 2008, with the Pine Valley Beijing Open and Iskandar Johor Open, both events which were inaugurated this year at US$500,000 and US$300,000 respectively, offering US$1 million each and the Maybank Malaysian Open offering a record US$2 million.

The Barclays Singapore Open, Asia’s richest national championship, will also raise its prize fund from US$4 million to US$5 million. The Midea China Classic and Macau Open will also increases to US$500,000 next year, from US$400,000 and US$300,000 respectively.

Between these six events, the Asian Tour stars will shoot for over US$3 million more than what was offered in 2007.

The new season will kick off from January 24-27, 2008 with the staging of the inaugural US$300,000 Asian Tour International at a venue to be confirmed.

In total, the Tour will visit no fewer than 16 countries/territories as the region’s best players chase for glory.

Han said the Schedule will continue to grow significantly over the coming weeks once details of a number of other tournaments are finalised.

“We are pleased to announce our provisional Schedule for 2008 which includes some of the finest golf tournaments in Asia. Many of our events will raise their prize funds to record figures and this clearly signifies the growing strength of the game across the region and the support from Corporate Asia,” said Han.

“There will be no fewer than 11 tournaments that will offer more than US$1 million in prize money and negotiations are also in the final stages for a number of other events to be added onto the Schedule, some of which are existing tournaments while others are new and exciting opportunities.”

In the opening months the 2008 season, several events have swapped dates. The Singapore Masters, traditionally played in March, will now move a month early to February 14-17 for its eighth edition while the Maybank Malaysian Open, an event inaugurated in 1962, will be held from March 6-9 with a record prize fund.

The prestigious Johnnie Walker Classic will visit India for the first time and offer US$2.5 million from February 28-March 2 while Asia’s oldest national Championship, the Philippine Open, will also be held in March at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.

The Volvo China Open and BMW Asian Open, both offering in excess of US$2 million each, will be held in succession in China in mid-April before the Tour travels to Korea for the GS Caltex Maekyung Open before returning to China again for the Pine Valley Beijing Open followed by the SK Telecom Open in Korea.

The Bangkok Airways Open in Thailand will return in June while the Brunei Open, celebrating its fourth staging next year, will be played in August.

The Tour will then steam ahead with visits to Chinese Taipei, Korea, India and Macau. The Kolon Hana Bank Korea Open, Asia’s longest running championship, returns with a prize fund of US$1 million while the Macau Open, traditionally played in May, will move to an October slot and offer an precedented US$500,000.

The Asian Tour’s flagship event, the Barclays Singapore Open, will offer a staggering US$5 million at the Sentosa Golf Club from November 6-9 and mark the start of a frantic finish to the season.

It will be the first of two successive US$5 million events as the HSBC Champions will be played at the following week in Shanghai.

Another notable fixture in 2008 will be the UBS Hong Kong Open, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary at the venerable Hong Kong Golf Club.

The US$5 million Omega Mission Hills World Cup will see the gathering of 28 nations at Mission Hills Golf Club in China once again while newly established events, the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters and Cambodian Open, will mark their second editions leading up to the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in Thailand in December.

2008 ASIAN TOUR SCHEDULE

Jan 24-27: Asian Tour International, Venue & Country TBC, US$300,000
Jan 31-Feb 3: Pakistan Open, Karachi GC, Karachi, US$300,000
Feb 14-17: Singapore Masters*, Laguna National GCC, Singapore, US$1.1 million
Feb 21-24: Astro Indonesian Open*, Venue TBA, Jakarta, US$1 million
Feb 28-Mar 2: Johnnie Walker Classic#, DLF GC, New Delhi, US$2.5 million
Mar 6-9: Maybank Malaysian Open*, Kota Permai GCC, Kuala Lumpur, US$2 million
Mar 13-16: Philippine Open, Wack Wack GCC, Manila, US$300,000
Mar 27-30: The Open Championship – International Final Qualifying (Asia), Sentosa GC, Singapore
April 17-20: Volvo China Open*, Beijing CBD International GC, Beijing, US$2 million
April 24-27: BMW Asian Open*, Tomson Shanghai Pudong GC, Shanghai, US$2.3 million
May 1-4: GS Caltex Maekyung Open, Nam Seoul GC, Seoul, US$600,000
May 8-11: Pine Valley Beijing Open, Pine Valley GC, Beijing, US$1 million
May 22-25: SK Telecom Open, Venue TBA, Seoul, US$600,000
June 5-8: Bangkok Airways Open, Santiburi Samui GC, Samui, US$300,000
August 21-24: Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational, Venue TBC, US$350,000
Aug 28-31: Brunei Open, Empire Hotel and CC, Bandar Seri Begawan, US$300,000
Sept 18-21: Mercuries Taiwan Masters, Taiwan GCC, Taipei US$500,000
Sept 25-28: Kolon Hana Bank Korea Open, Venue TBA, Seoul, US$1 million
Oct 2-5: Fortis International Challenge, Venue TBA
Oct 9-12: Hero Honda Indian Open, Delhi GC, New Delhi, US$500,000
Oct 16-19: Midea China Classic, Royal Orchid International GC, Guangzhou, US$500,000
Oct 23-26: Macau Open, Macau GCC, Macau, US$500,000
Oct 30- Nov 2: Iskandar Johor Open, Royal Johor CC, Johor Bahru, US$1 million
Nov 6-9: Barclays Singapore Open, Sentosa GC, Singapore, US$5 million
Nov 13-16: HSBC Champions (s), Sheshan International GC, Shanghai, US$5 million
Nov 20-23: UBS Hong Kong Open*, Hong Kong GC, Hong Kong, US$2.25 million
Nov 27-30: Omega Mission Hills World Cup, Mission Hills GC, Shenzhen, US$5 million
Dec 4-7: Hana Bank Vietnam Masters, Hanoi Phoenix Golf Resort, Hanoi, US$500,000
Dec 11-14: Cambodian Open, Phokeethra CC, Siem Reap, US$300,000
Dec 18-21: Volvo Masters of Asia, Thai Country Club, Bangkok, US$750,000.

* Co-sanctioned with European Tour
# Tri-sanctioned with Australasian Tour and European Tour
S Special Event

November 5, 2007

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