Indonesia's best golfers to join Asian Omega Tour
Indonesia's best golfers to join Asian Omega Tour
JAKARTA (JP): Two of Indonesia's leading golfers, Maan Naasim
from Sawangan Golf Club and Kasiyadi from Surabaya's Yani Club,
will join the Asian Omega Tour thanks to sponsorship from
telecommunications company Satelindo.
Maan and Kasiyadi will compete in five of the 25 legs of the
Asian Omega PGA Tour which carries US$8.5 million in prize money.
Kasiyadi, 34, who in 1989 became the first Indonesian to win
the Indonesian Open, finished 22nd in the recent Satelindo
Indonesian Open -- the sixth leg of the Asian Tour.
The 32-year-old Maan, who has been representing Indonesia in
many major international events including the Alfred Dunhill Cup
and Alfred Dunhill Masters, came joint 58th in the Satelindo Open
from April 24 to April 27 at the Jagorawi Golf and Country Club
near Bogor.
Australian Craig Parry won the 22nd Indonesian Open. The first
was held in 1974 in Medan, North Sumatra.
"Aside from being the main sponsor of the Indonesian Open Golf
Championships, Satelindo is keen to help develop golf in the
country. As part of our intention to help develop the sport we
decided to sponsor Indonesia's two leading golfers for the Asian
Tour,"
Satelindo, a private telecommunications firm, was set up in
1993, by state-owned firms PT Telkom, PT Indosat, and national
private company PT Bimagraha Telekomindo.
Kasiyadi and Maan will compete in the US$200,000 Sabah Masters
from Aug. 7 to Aug. 10 in Malaysia, the $500,000 Cannon Singapore
Open from Aug. 14 to Aug. 17, the $500,000 Asia Pacific Ericsson
Masters in Bintan Lagoon Golf and Beach Resort on Bintan Island
in Riau from Sept. 11 to Sept. 14, the $200,000 Yokohama
Singapore from Oct. 2 to Oct. 5 and the $200,000 Royal Bangkok
Open from Oct. 9 to Oct. 12.
"We are happy with Satelindo's helping hand in sponsoring our
best golfers for the Asian Tour. We believe such sponsorship will
help develop our golfers," the secretary-general of Indonesia
Golf Association, Taufic Aziz, said yesterday.
The $500,000 Asia Pacific Ericsson Masters will be the biggest
tournament in Indonesia and reportedly will feature several world
rated European and American golfers.
The Masters on Bintan island is a joint-sanctioned event
between the Asian PGA Tour and Indonesia Golf Association. (rsl)