Thailand To Host Ground-breaking Asian Event

[Jai Dee]

Thailand to host ground-breaking Asian event

SINGAPORE, June 7 (Reuters) - A ground-breaking $1 million tournament, the first in Asia Pacific to be sanctioned by the region's three major tours, will be launched in Thailand next March.

The inaugural Blue Canyon International is scheduled for March 8-11 at the Blue Canyon Country Club on the holiday isle of Phuket.

It will mark the first time the Asian, Japanese and Australasian tours have come together to sanction a tournament.

Asian Tour chief executive Louis Martin hailed Wednesday's announcement of the event, which will feature more than 200 golfers, as a major step forward for the sport in the Asia Pacific region.

"(The event) is destined for a memorable launch as it will be the stage that brings together all the top stars from the Asian, Japan and Australasian tours," Martin said.

SIGNIFICANT EVENT

"We are truly excited with this landmark development which has been the result of close cooperation between the three international tours.

"It promises to be a festival of golf and through the support of (sponsor) Motorola and Blue Canyon, we are now able to realise our dream."

Japan Golf Tour organisation chairman Kosaku Shimada echoed Martin's enthusiasm, predicting the tournament would develop into a significant event on the international golf schedule.

"This new and exciting tournament has all the ingredients for success and we have every confidence that it will become a prestigious tournament that every player from the three major tours will want to win," he said.

Australasian Tour chairman Wayne Grady further reinforced the tournament's importance.

"We're delighted to be involved with this historic event," said the winner of the 1990 U.S. PGA Championship.

"The tri-sanctioned status of this tournament heralds a new era for the Australasian tour along with our partner tours in Asia and Japan and we look forward to working with all parties involved with the event to make it an enormous success."

Source: Reuters - Wed Jun 7, 2006

[george]

Phuket to host million dollar golf tournament

PHUKET: -- Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club is to be the venue for a new million US dollar golf tournament that will bring together over 200 golfers from the Asian, Japan and Australasian tours from 8 to 11 March 2007.

The Motorola Blue Canyon International is the first of its size and type in the region and received official sanctioning from all three tour organisations at a meeting in Singapore this week.

At the press conference announcing the new tournament, Wayne Grady, chairman of the Australasian Tour, told reporters: "The tri-sanctioned status of this tournament heralds a new era for the Australasian tour along with our partner tours in Asia and Japan and we look forward to working with all parties involved with the event to make it an enormous success."

Mr Grady’s opposite number at the Asian Tour, Louis Martin, said: "We are truly excited with this landmark development, which has been the result of close cooperation between the three international tours. It promises to be a festival of golf and through the support of Motorola and Blue Canyon, we are now able to realise our dream.”

Kosaku Shimada of the Japan Golf Tour Organisation was equally enthusiastic about the new tournament. "This new and exciting tournament has all the ingredients for success,” he told reporters. “We have every confidence that it will become a prestigious tournament that every player from the three major tours will want to win."

Blue Canyon Country Club's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sia Leng Yuen said the club was honoured to be a part of this historic event. "The management and staff of Blue Canyon pledge their full support to this groundbreaking endeavour. This new event is a giant step towards the long-term interest of the professional game in Asia.

The timing cannot be any better,” he said. “Blue Canyon is committed to being the long term home of this prestigious event. We look forward to hosting the playing members of all three Tours at Blue Canyon in March 2007 and to welcoming them back year after year.”

--Phuket Post 2006-06-07