RI golfers to play in Spain

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian golfers Basuki Rowi and Toscara Ediwan have won the right to play in next month's Volvo Classic International in Jerez, Spain.

They both went through the par-72 Pantai Indah Kapuk golf course yesterday with a score of 41 in their respective groups. The field was split into two groups: A flight and B flight.

Basuki and Toscara were selected from a field of 66 players who own or drive Volvo sedans or were invited to play in the one- day tournament at the posh North Jakarta course.

The tournament used the Stableford full-handicap counting system in which a golfer who scores an albatross gets five points. An eagle is worth four points, a birdie three, an even par is worth two, while a bogey is worth one.

The Volvo Classic International is one of the world's most prestigious amateur events and is organized in conjunction with the Volvo Masters, one of the most sought after professional titles in Europe. The championship started in 1988.

This year's Volvo Masters championship, scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 will be at the Montescastillo Hotel and Golf Resort in Jerez, Spain. It is offering a whopping million pounds in prize money.

Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty won the event last year.

"We organize this tournament as part of our bid to get closer to Volvo sedan owners," said Tine Sigarlaki, the company's marketing division chief.

"We hope, like our counterparts in Europe, to organize such an event for amateurs every year," Tine said.

Nobody won the brand-new Volvo sedan on offer to anyone who could hit a hole-in-one. (rsl)