Gading to host Indonesia golf meet

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The 26th edition of the Indonesia Open amateur women's golf championship will tee off in early August with organizers expecting more foreign golfers than last year to participate.

The three-day competition will start on Aug. 3 at the Gading Raya Golf Course in Tangerang, Banten province.

"Last year we had foreign participants from three countries. We expect more neighboring countries to send golfers to the tournament (this year)," Haryanto Danutirto, the chairman of the organizing committee, said on Tuesday.

The tournament, which was first staged in 1978, allows a maximum of 150 golfers, including athletes from 68 golf clubs and 22 provincial chapters of the Indonesian Amateur Golf Association.

"We have gotten confirmation from India and Malaysia. Other participants normally confirm a few days before the competition," Haryanto said, adding that golfers from Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines were expected to compete in this year's event.

The tournament will offer the Srikandi Cup for the best gross score and the Kartini Cup for best net score.

With the National Games being held in September in Palembang, South Sumatra, local golfers will be using the Indonesia Open as a warm-up for the quadrennial multievent sporting showcase.

Separately, U.S.-based Adams Golf announced the launch of the Ovation, its latest model golf club.

Director of international sales for Adams Golf, Marc Puglielli, said the club was the latest generation of Tight Lies, which was first introduced in 1997.

Puglielli said one of the unique features of the Ovation was its low center of gravity, which made it easier to get the ball into the air.

Adams Golf first introduced its products to Indonesia in 2001, and Puglielli said the company saw the country as a great potential market.