Motorola Blue Canyon International to Break New Ground in Thailand

A ground-breaking event tri-sanctioned by the Asian, Japan and Australasian Tours will be launched in Thailand next March, officials confirmed last week.

The inaugural Motorola Blue Canyon International is scheduled to take place at the award-winning Blue Canyon Country Club on the holiday isle of Phuket from March 8-11, 2007 with a lucrative prize fund of US$1 million.

This is the first time the three major Tours have come together to sanction a tournament in the region. More than 200 players will play over two championship courses at the Blue Canyon with the Tours providing full fields. The halfway cut will see 70 players and ties qualifying for the weekend rounds over the newly renovated Lakes Course.

Alan Nicklos, Vice President Motorola Asia Pacific Mobile Devices, South East Asia, described the Motorola Blue Canyon International as an ideal sponsorship opportunity for Motorola.

“Motorola’s involvement with the first ever tri-sanctioned golf tournament between Asia, Australasia and Japan underscores our initiative and commitment to the region,” said Nicklos. “The Motorola Blue Canyon International is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our cutting-edge technology and the Motorola brand to consumers in South East Asia and around the globe.”

Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin hailed the announcement as a major step forward for golf in the Asia Pacific region.

"The Motorola Blue Canyon International 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.

"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.

“The Asian Tour looks forward to returning to Blue Canyon and we are delighted with their commitment to be the long term home of this tri-sanctioned event.”

Japan Golf Tour Organisation Chairman Kosaku Shimada believes the Motorola Blue Canyon International will develop into a truly major 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.

"The Japan Golf Tour is delighted to work closely with our friends from Asia and Australasia where cooperation like this will benefit our players, the sponsors and most of all, provide world-class entertainment for golf fans," said Shimada.

Australasian Tour Chairman Wayne Grady further reinforced the importance of this new event for golf in the Asia Pacific Region.

“We’re delighted to be involved with this historic event and welcome Motorola and Blue Canyon as new Tour partners. 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.”

Blue Canyon Country Club's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sia Leng Yuen said the club was honoured to be very much a part of this historic event. "The management and staff of Blue Canyon pledge their full support behind 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.

“Blue Canyon is committed to be 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.”

Promoter of the Motorola Blue Canyon International is Global Premier Sports. Managing Director, Patrick Janssen further emphasises that the strength of golf in the Asia Pacific region is testament to the involvement of the major contributors in the tournament. “Through the efforts of our successful partners, Motorola, Blue Canyon and the Asian, Japan and Australasian Tours we are certain that this tournament will be the benchmark for golf in the area.”

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