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2009 Asian Tour Qualitfying School returns to Thailand

The 2009 Asian Tour Qualifying School will be staged in Thailand in January where the all-important Final Stage will for the first time be played over five rounds.

An estimated 500 players from around the world are expected to gather in Thailand where the top-40 finishers and ties will earn playing privileges on the fast-growing Asian Tour.

Three venues, Lam Luk Ka Country Club, St Andrews 2000 Golf Club and Rayong Green Valley Country Club – all located on the outskirts of Bangkok, will host the First Stage from January 6 to 9, 2009.

The Final Stage will be held at St Andrews 2000 and Rayong Green Valley from January 13 to 17, 2009. Entry Form for the Qualifying School is available on www.asiantour.com.

The Asian Tour is widely regarded as the fastest growing tour in the world, with a record US$39 million in total prize money on offer this year through the staging of an unprecedented 30 tournaments across the region.

Kyi Hla Han, Executive Chairman, Asian Tour, said he was expecting another strong turnout of entries at the 2009 Qualifying School.

“With the Asian Tour enjoying another record season in 2008, we are anticipating a good response from players to vie for the 40 Tour cards for our 2009 season,” said Han.

Han added that the introduction of the fifth and final round at the Final Stage would create a sterner test for the Qualifying School hopefuls to gain their playing rights on the Asian Tour.

Over the years, the Qualifying School has been a breeding ground for Asia’s rising stars to emerge onto the big stage.

Thai stalwart Thongchai Jaidee is a wonderful example where he graduated from Qualifying School in 1999 and went on to become one of the most successful players in Asia, accumulating over US$2 million in winnings to top the career earnings list on the Asian Tour.

Other prominent names who have emerged from Qualifying School and achieved success on the Asian Tour include Scotland’s Simon Yates, former US Tour player Scott Hend of Australia, Korea’s Charlie Wi and Korean-American Kevin Na, India’s Arjun Atwal and Shiv Kapur and Australian duo Jarrod Lyle and Andrew Buckle.

The last time Thailand staged the Qualifying School was for the 2007 season while Malaysia played host to the 2008 Qualifying School.

October 22, 2008