Amateurs tee off Johnnie Walker week
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)