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)