Major champion Rich Beem to join Wi at Vietnam Masters

Major champion Rich Beem of the United States will be amongst three US PGA Tour regulars who will headline the inaugural Hana Bank Vietnam Masters from November 22-25.

Beem, winner of the 2002 PGA Championship, will be joined by compatriot Tom Pernice Jr and Korea’s Charlie Wi in the US$500,000 Asian Tour event which will be played at the Hanoi Phoenix Golf Resort.

The 37-year-old Beem has claimed three US PGA Tour titles under his belt while Pernice Jr has won twice. Wi, a seven-time winner on the Asian Tour, successfully retained his Tour card in America this season after a superb year which included three top-10s and four top-20s.

Mr Kim Jong-jun, Deputy President and Group Head, Hana Bank, said: “We are thrilled to welcome three of the US PGA Tour’s stars, including one Major winner to the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters.

“I believe the presence of Rich Beem, Charlie Wi and Tom Pernice Jr will greatly enhance our new tournament in Vietnam and provide golf fans in Hanoi with a rare opportunity to watch world-class golfers in action.”

Beem’s success in America has been well documented, especially after he quit the game briefly during the mid-1990s to become a mobile phone and car stereo salesman.

But after seeing his close friend J.P. Hayes win the 1998 Buick Classic, Beem rededicated himself to the game and found success in the following year at the Kemper Open.

Three years later, the bubbly American enjoyed his finest season when he won twice in a row, first winning The International and then holding off world number one Tiger Woods to lift the PGA Championship at Hazeltine in the year’s fourth and final Major.

Beem’s success then did not change his outlook in life as he kept his salesman ID in his wallet to remind him of the early hardship in his life. After his triumph in the PGA Championship, he visited his former employers and colleagues, and answered telephone enquiries at the stereo shop: “Good morning, this is Rich Beem, how can I help you?”

Pernice, 48, shares a similarity with Beem that he also won The International in 2001 as well as the 1999 Buick Open. This season, the experienced campaigner enjoyed two top-10s and three top-20s on the US PGA Tour.

Wi has been one of the most successful players on the Asian Tour, winning seven times, before finding his feet on the US PGA Tour. His last victory in Asia was the Maybank Malaysian Open last year.

The Hanoi Phoenix Golf Resort is the biggest golfing facility in the Northern Province of Vietnam where its 27-hole course caters to the growing number of leisure golfers in Hanoi.

Hana Bank signed a three-year deal with the Asian Tour to stage the event where its event will be the third to last counting tournament towards the race for the prestigious UBS Order of Merit crown.

The Asian Tour will offer a record 28 tournaments with over US$27 million in total prize money this season.

November 13, 2007

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