8 January 2009 Kuala Lumpur, 08 January 2009 – The Maybank Malaysian Open 2009 today announced new European Tour member Anthony Kim will make his first appearance in South East Asia at this year’s event which takes place at Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur from 12th-15th February.
The 23 year old Korean American burst onto the PGA Tour in 2007 and picked up two victories last season at the Wachovia Championship and the AT&T National. This made him the first American player under the age of 25 to win twice in one year on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods in 2000.
“I had a great season on Tour last year and it will be a great experience for me to come to Malaysia to play in the Maybank Malaysian Open for the first time. With it being part of the Race to Dubai I know I will be facing a tough field but I hope I can play well and continue where I left off last season,” said Kim.
Kim finished the 2008 PGA season in 11th position on the Official World Golf Ranking and was part of the winning Ryder Cup team in September 2008 where he defeated World number two, Sergio Garcia 5 & 4 in the opening singles match of the final day. He also recorded his first top-ten finish in a Major, tying for seventh place at the 2008 British Open.
Another top player announced today for the February event is Japan’s number one Shingo Katayama. He has topped the Japan Golf Tour Money List last year for the fifth time and has 26 victories on the Tour. Katayama’s most notable achievement to date outside of Japan is his tied fourth place finish at the 2001 PGA Championship.
Known for his cowboy hats and fashion flare, Katayama is looking forward to the event saying, “This is going to be a great and challenging event for me in Malaysia. It will be a new course for me to play on and I know the other players will be playing well at the start of the year so hopefully I can do the same. This will be my first event of the year before heading to the US for the WGC Accenture Matchplay so this is great preparation for me.”
Maybank Chairman Tan Sri Mohamed Basir bin Ahmad said, “This year, we continue with the Open’s tradition of showcasing some of the world’s best, including upcoming young champions of the future in the star players list. Kim and Katayama are part of the new generation of golfers that attract a huge worldwide following and it will be a great privilege for us all to watch them entertaining everyone here to great golfing at the Open this year “
Strong supporters of golf, Maybank have been title sponsor of the Malaysian Open since 2006 and are committed to supporting the competition until 2010 along with a host of fringe activities throughout the year to aid the development of local talent. A Junior Golf Camp was held early December with a girl and boy winner getting slots in the Maybank Malaysian Open Pro-Am next month.
The Maybank Golf Challenge is another extremely popular and successful arm of their golf involvement which is into its fourth year. The Challenge culminates in a Grand Final on 16th February where they will get to meet some of the stars of the professional event.
Each year, Maybank also supports a national qualifying event which allows more Malaysian professionals to compete alongside some of the best players in the world. This year five slots will be given from the qualifying along with four amateurs, three from the MGA and four who have currently qualified through the Asian Tour.
Past contenders of Malaysia’s richest golfing event include Lee Westwood (1997 winner), Darren Clarke, Vijay Singh who has lifted the trophy on two occasions (1992 and 2001 winner) and 2008 Asian Tour Order of Merit Winner Jeev Milkha Singh. The US$2million prize purse will ensure a high calibre showing on the Palm Course at Saujana Golf and Country Club which is often referred to as ‘The Cobra’.
MGA President Datuk Robin Loh said, “The Maybank Malaysian Open is the richest event we have on Tour and it continues to go from strength to strength. Golf in Malaysia is growing in popularity and bringing these golfing stars to home soil gives all those enthusiasts the opportunity to watch them in action first hand which will only help to encourage our future golfers to play and follow the game.”
The event, which was the first event in Asia to be co-sanctioned back in 1999 by the European and Asian Tours, will offer players vital prize money on The Race to Dubai. This new format replaces the old European Tour Order of Merit and will give the top-60 ranked players the chance to play for the US$10,000,000 prize find, in addition to the US$10,000,000 Bonus Pool, when the season ends at the inaugural Dubai World Championship in November.
Keith Waters, Director of International Policy for The European Tour, said: “We are always happy to welcome players to The European Tour, particularly players of the quality of Anthony Kim, and we are delighted that he has made a commitment to be part of The Race to Dubai. Part of that commitment is to play in the Maybank Malaysian Open in February and we are convinced he will enjoy both the challenge presented by the wonderful Saujana Golf and Country Club as well as the traditional warm hospitality afforded to every visitor to Kuala Lumpur.”
Kyi Hla Han, Asian Tour, Executive Chairman said, “The Asian Tour is proud to be associated with the Maybank Malaysian Open once again this year. This event has a special place in Asian golf history as it was the first championship to be jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour in 1999 and our players always look forward to returning to Malaysia. Our highly talented players have enjoyed great success in the Malaysian Open, with the likes Yeh Wei-tze, Thongchai Jaidee, Charlie Wi and Arjun Atwal winning the event in recent years and it gives me every confidence that our players will perform well again at Saujana.”
“We have enjoyed watching Anthony’s 2008 PGA season and after his two Tour victories and winning Ryder Cup performance, we are sure that Asia’s golfing fans will be out in force to support him from 12th-15th February,” commented John Eu, Chief Executive Officer of Global One.
He continued, “The ongoing support of our sponsors, the fans and the world’s top players ensure that the Maybank Malaysian Open remains one of the premier events of the season and it is great to see players such as Kim making the trip to Asia in a bid to win the trophy.”
The 2008 Maybank Malaysian Open, played at Kota Permai was won for the second time by Arjun Atwal from India with Peter Hedblom finishing second after a play-off on the final hole. Nick Dougherty, David Howell, Rory McIlroy and local professional Danny Chia were just some of the players that featured last year and more names coming this year will be announced soon.
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