Golf body hopes locals will rise at Indonesia Open

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Golf Association hopes seven locals will qualify for the final of the Satelindo Indonesia Open 1997 next month.

"We hope national players Maan Nasim, Kasiyadi, Ilyasak and Marno are among the qualifiers," association official FX Widyastanto said yesterday.

Fifteen local golfers are entered for the qualifying round of the annual championships.

Surabaya-based Kasiyadi made local golf history when he won the tournament at the Jakarta Golf and Country Club, Rawamangun, East Jakarta, in 1989. He won the title with an 11-under-par 273.

One hundred and forty-five local and foreign golfers are expected to compete in the US$250,000 tournament from April 24 to April 27 at the Jagorawi golf and country club in Bogor.

The country's oldest golf tournament was first held at the Tarutung golf course in Medan, North Sumatra, in 1974. Ben Arda of the Philippines won the tournament.

In 1992, the tournament was canceled because of the fasting month but was staged again a year later at the Nusa Dua Golf and Country Club in Bali.

The tournament has been dubbed the most prestigious in the Omega Asia PGA Tour.

Widyastanto said national amateur players training for the 19th SEA Games here in October would compete in a $10,000 pro-am on April 23.

"We expect one of them can win the pro-am event," he said.

Widyastanto said he hoped the championship would boost the development of local golf and produce a new local champion.

Ron Chesterton of Satelindo, the official sponsor, said the company had made a two-year commitment to sponsor the tournament.

"We could indeed follow this with other commitments in the future. We expect to continue sponsoring golf," he said.

"We don't sponsor the championship on business considerations only. We want to support Indonesia's potential golfers and support the growth of young people who will become pros," Chesterton said.

Mark Adams of the International Management Group, which is organizing the event in cooperation with Mercurindo, said that top players from the United States, Australia and Europe were expected to compete.

"We're still negotiating on their entries here. We'll probably announce the confirmed names for the tournament in two weeks," he said.

Adams said the organizers would provide one-hour video highlights to TV stations. The programs will be aired soon after the event.

Last year's tournament, also at Jagorawi, one of the country's most challenging courses, was won by Edward Fryatt of England who scored a 13-under-par 271. (yan)