Faldo, Frost, Singh to play in Asian Masters
Faldo, Frost, Singh to play in Asian Masters
JAKARTA (JP): Golf world beaters David Frost of South Africa,
Vijay Singh of Fiji and Nick Faldo of Britain will try to tame
the plush Bali Golf and Country Club when they play in the
US$345,000 Asian Masters in November.
The par-72 layout at the Nusa Dua tourist resort was the host
of the 1993 Sampoerna Indonesia Open, a stop on the 10 leg Asian
Tour made throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Frost whose current world ranking is 9th and the 16th ranked
Fijian golfer, who made his name on the Asian Tour, have
confirmed their entry in the country's richest event.
"Faldo's participation in the inaugural of the Alfred Dunhill
Asian Masters in Bali is 90 percent confirmed," said Mark Adams
of the International Management Group, a London-based sports
management group overseeing the event yesterday.
Alfred Dunhill Pacific's decision to sponsor the new
tournament came as part of its aggressive advertising putsch in
the region.
"The decision to sponsor a major new golf tournament in the
Asia Pacific region has been based on the considerable importance
of this market to Alfred Dunhill," said Richard Cole of the
Alfred Dunhill Pacific as quoted by Adams.
He said the Asian Masters will be contested annually on
different regional courses.
"It is our intention to attract leading international players
such as Faldo to play alongside the best Asian and Australian
players to ensure the Masters 120-man field," Cole said.
The Indonesia Golf Association (PGI) has decided to sanction
the Asian Masters following the approval of the Asian Tour and
the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation.
"We can only sanction such international major events after
the organizers obtained the needed approval from APGC," PGI
secretary Taufik Aziz said.
PGI, he added, fully backs the event because it will help
promote Indonesia as a tourist destination. "Naming Bali Golf and
Country Club as the host of the inaugural Asian Masters is I
think, the right choice." (rsl)