Amateurs tee off Johnnie Walker week
JAKARTA (JP): The seventh Johnnie Walker International Club Championship tees off at Emeralda Golf & Country Club near here from Dec. 7 to Dec. 8 when 14 nations are competing to win Asia's most prestigious amateur team event.
The tournament will host teams from China, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Indonesia is the first country to have staged the Johnnie Walker International Club Championship twice since its inception -- the Bali Golf and Country Club hosted the event in 1994.
T. Sugianto, Zainal Effendi and Anthony Hatuley from the Bogor golf club won the 1997 Johnnie Walker Inter-team Championship national final at the Jagorawi Golf and Country Club on Nov. 2 to represent Indonesia in the Johnnie Walker International final.
Each team consists of three players representing each of the handicap classes, Class A (0-9), Class B (10-16) and Class C (17- 24). The format of the championship will be 36 holes of strokeplay over two days and the team with the lowest aggregate score will be crowned champion.
Individual honors for each handicap bracket will also be awarded.
Other countries which have held the international final are China, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
Situated in the foothills of West Java's historical Gunung Salak mountain, the spectacular Emeralda Golf and Country Club's South course, which was designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer, will prove an impressive challenge for Asia's top amateur golfers.
Enjoy
"The substance of organizing this event is to give amateur golfers of all levels the chance to enjoy the camaraderie of the game while representing their country in a competitive environment," said Steven Foxcroft, Brands PR Director of United Distillers Asia.
Last year, the championship was played at Ta Shee Golf and Country Club in Taiwan where the team from India, represented by Sudeep Shitlangia, Ashit Luthra and Aditya Bajoria, triumphed with a two-round aggregate team score of 436.6, beating runner-up Thailand by 8.2 points.
Wigberto Clavecilla of the Philippines won the individual competition for Class A while Korea's Lee Sang-yoon was successful in class B. The Class C winner was Thailand's Uayporn Nilkumbaeng.
The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, the oldest golf club in the world outside the British Isles will return to defend its 1996 title.
Royal Calcutta claimed its place to represent India in the international final after beating competitors from 51 clubs. One member, Shitlangia will once again be part of the team.
The amateur team championship will be followed on Tuesday by the opening round in the 1997 Johnnie Walker Super Tour, which will see a selection of the world's top-rated pro golfers in a fray against some of Asia's best players.
South Africa's Ernie Els will leads the world beaters who also include England's Nick Faldo, Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Ian Woosnam of Wales. They will vie for US$350,000 in prize money.
The Asian representatives are Maan Naasim (Indonesia), Boonchu Ruangkit (Thailand), Filipino Felix Casas and Taiwan's up-and- coming young amateur Hong Chia-yuh in the innovative eight-man, four-country tournament. (rsl)