120 golfers to tee off in Indonesia Ladies Open

JAKARTA (JP): About 120 women amateur and professional golfers from 20 countries including Indonesia will take part in the Indonesia Ladies Open here from Feb. 2 to Feb. 5.

The four-day tournament will be held at Senayan Golf Club, South Jakarta. A total cash prize of US$75,000 (Rp 547.5 million) is at stake for the 120 golfers who come from Indonesia, the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Indonesia will be represented by top amateur golfers from various regions in the country.

"Indonesia does not have any professional women golfers. We hope from this tournament, we can create professional golfers," organizer Avie K. Utomo of the Indonesia Golf Association (PGI) said on Tuesday.

The Indonesia Ladies Open is included in the Kosaido Ladies Golf Circuit which has held 14 tournaments since 1987. Four tournaments will be held this year in four countries Taiwan (Jan. 20 to Jan. 22), Malaysia (Jan. 27 to Jan. 29), Indonesia (Feb. 2 to Feb. 4) and Thailand (Feb. 10 to Feb. 12).

The four countries offer different total cash prizes: Taiwan, US$120,000; Malaysia, $75,000; Indonesia, $75,000, and Thailand, $100,000.

Wei Jun Jye of Taiwan won the Taiwan Open and Kang Soo-hyun of South Korea won the Malaysia Open.

Other prominent golfers include Pernila Sterner of Sweden and Tina Fischer of Germany. Pernila won the tournament in 1997 at Pondok Cabe and Tina in 1998 at Kapuk.

The Senayan Golf Club has an 18-hole course with a 70 par and a total length of 5,871 yards. The club provides facilities such as a proshop, meeting rooms, a members' lounge, jacuzzi, locker rooms, massage treatments, a sauna and a terrace restaurant.

The club is not only limited to members but also open to the public. "We want to create a good atmosphere to all people at the club," said J.M. Wantah, the club's managing director.

Meanwhile, both Wei Yun Jye and Kang Soo-yun said that they will do their best to win the tournament.

"The course is not difficult to play on and this is my first time playing in the tournament. I will do my best to win the tournament," Kang said. She leads the top ranking list in the Order of Merit and has been a professional for three years.

Kang considers her biggest rival to be Wei. "I have to be careful with my strikes and Wei is good at them," Kang said.

Tina, who did not play in Taiwan or Malaysia, said that for her to win the tournament, strategy is required.

"The most important thing is to play with strategy. I am impressed with the golf course and I look forward to winning the tournament," Tina said. (lnt)