Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 4 February 2009 – The Maybank Malaysian Open tees off at Saujana Golf and Country Club next week with an impressive cast of leading European Tour players battling it out for vital prize money on The Race to Dubai.

Simon Dyson, Anton Haig and David Howell will join new European Tour Member Anthony Kim in the US$2million prize purse event, jointly sanctioned by The European Tour and Asian Tour, on the Palm Course from 12th – 15th February.

Twelve months ago, Dyson narrowly missed out on a place in the play-off when he claimed his best finish of the season by tying for third spot in the Maybank Malaysian Open. Currently sitting just outside the top 30 on The European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings, he will be eager to produce another solid performance.

He said: “The Maybank Malaysian Open was a great event for me last year tying for third and while it was disappointing not make the play-off I am keen to make amends this year.”

Dyson has five professional victories under his belt, the last coming in 2006 at The KLM Open. He also claimed his maiden European Tour victory at the co-sanctioned Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesian Open earlier that year. In 2000 he won the Asian Tour Order of Merit after winning the Volvo China Open, the Macau Open and Omega Hong Kong Open in the same season.

Anton Haig returns to the Maybank Malaysian Open for this third appearance and is now into his fifth year as a professional.. His victory in the 2007 Johnnie Walker Classic earned him full European Tour Membership and propelled him into the Top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Haig is one of a hugely talented crop of young South Africans making a name for themselves on the world stage.

Another member of that group is Louis Oosthuizen, who is currently in seventh place on The Race to Dubai. Oosthuizen is enjoying a great start to the season with four top-ten finishes including two tied-second places at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and Commercial bank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy over the past three weeks.

“I am ranked 50th right now and am playing really well at the moment and enjoying my golf so I am hoping I can keep the momentum going and get a good result at the Maybank Malaysian Open that will help me get into the Masters,” commented Oosthuizen.

David Howell is back in Malaysia for the third time looking for a fifth European Tour title. Howell’s previous four victories have come in some of the Tour’s biggest events, including the BMW PGA Championship  in 2006, The European Tour’s flagship event.

Also appearing at Malaysia’s richest golfing event are experienced Tour players Stephen Leaney from Australia and England’s Richard Finch. Leaney made his mark back in 1998 when he won twice on The European Tour and since 2004 he has played mainly on the US PGA Tour. In 2002, he narrowly missed out on the Maybank Malaysian Open title, losing a play-off to Alastair Forsyth.

Finch recorded his maiden European Tour victory at the 2008 Michael Hill New Zealand Open and went on to win the Irish Open title in May to finish the season 20th on The European Tour Order of Merit, his best performance to date.

John Eu, Chief Executive Officer of GlobalOne said, “The line-up for the 2009 Maybank Malaysian Open has almost fully been announced and we are delighted by the stellar field we have coming to Saujana Golf and Country Club next week. Some of the best players from both The European and Asian Tours are taking part in the 48th edition of this prestigious event and we are ready for a very exciting and tough competition over the four days.”

The 2008 Maybank Malaysian Open was won by Arjun Atwal of India after a play-off with Peter Hedblom. This year’s event makes up part of the inaugural Race to Dubai and has been a co-sanctioned event since 1999.