Malaysia lines up big year of golf action
The Malaysia Golf Tourism Association (MGTA) is gearing up for a big year, led by the new biennial, Ryder Cup-style EurAsia Cup, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian tours and held over three days at Kuala Lumpur’s Glenmarie Golf and Country Club from March 27-29.
It will be followed by top-flight tournaments including the Maybank Malaysian Open in April, the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia (part of the LPGA Tour) in October and the CIMB Classic (the PGA Tour’s first official FedExCup event in Asia), details of which have yet to be confirmed for 2014.
Additionally, the first Els Club in Asia is being built in Datai, Langkawi, which will open this year.
Peter Walton, chief executive of global golf tourism industry organisation, IAGTO, said: "Three years since we hosted our inaugural Asia Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC) at the Mines Golf Resort in Kuala Lumpur, we now have 157 golf tour operators in 41 countries selling Malaysia as a golf destination, which is an increase of over 50%.
The EurAsia Cup, presented by DRB-HICOM, will pitch Europe against Asia.
The Maybank Malaysian Open, first staged in 1962 as the Malaysian Open, returns to the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club from April 17-20, with a purse of US$2.75 million.
The Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia takes place from October 9-12, also at the KLGCC. Won in 2013 by rising US star Lexi Thompson from China’s Shangshan Feng and Norway’s Suzann Petterson, it has a purse of US$2 million.
Ian Jarrett
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