Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open returns for fourth year

MONDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2010
TheSportsCampus.com

The fourth staging of the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will be held at the Phokeethra Country Club from December 9-12, 2010. Officials announced today that the US$300,000 Asian Tour tournament will continue to serve its multi-pronged objectives to develop the game and also promote tourism in the emerging nation which is world famous for its Angkor Wat temples.

Since its historic inauguration in 2007, several of Cambodia's leading amateur golfers have enjoyed the opportunity of competing alongside Asia's greatest players and the vision is for them to eventually contend and win their national Championship.

Johnnie Walker, who will title sponsor the tournament for the fourth consecutive year, believes its extended commitment will continue to shape the landscape of golf in Cambodia.

"As in the spirit of Johnnie Walker where our "Keep Walking" slogan has inspired many people to follow their dreams through perseverance, passion and commitment, we believe our commitment to the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will inspire young Cambodian golfers to shoot for the stars," said Johnnie Walker South East Asia General Manager, Sam Fisher.

"We have enjoyed tremendous success over the first three editions where many great Asian Tour players have graced the fairways of Phokeethra Country Club and we hope their continued presence will inspire the local golfers. It remains our dream that one day, a Cambodian golfer will win the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open."

American Bryan Saltus claimed a memorable triumph in the first edition in 2007 before Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee produced a popular victory in 2008. Last year, Australian Marcus Both prevailed at Phokeethra.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han expressed his appreciation to Johnnie Walker for its title sponsorship. "Sponsorship is crucial in any sport and the Asian Tour is privileged and honoured that an international brand such as Johnnie Walker continues to support professional golf at the highest level in Asia," said Han.

Cambodia launches its first international golf tournament near famed Angkor temples

Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The Associated Press

SIEM REAP, Cambodia: Asia launched its newest international golf tournament amid centuries-old Angkor temples when the Cambodian Open teed off Thursday.

Prime Minister Hun Sen teed off the first ball of the inaugural US$300,000 (€203,430) tournament at the recently opened Phokeethra Country Club in Siem Reap province, Cambodia's main tourist hub.

Siem Reap is the nearest town to Cambodia's most popular tourist attraction, the vast network of ancient temples including Angkor Wat — as well as one of just three golf courses in the southest Asian nation.

"The launch of this event symbolizes the growing emergence of professional golf in new golfing countries like Cambodia and it augurs for the game in Asia," Kyi Hla Han, Asian Tour executive chairman, said in a statement.

Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant, a former Asian number one and holder of a record nine victories in the region, is among the golfers competing at the tournament.

Other players include Chapchai Nirat, also from Thailand, and Scotland's Simon Yates, both ranked in the top-10 of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Touted as the only international-standard course in Cambodia, Phokeethra is the result of a campaign by the Cambodia government to boost its tourist revenues. The 18-hole, 72-par course is 23 kilometers (14 miles) outside Siem Reap town.

Cambodia's other two golf courses are located near the capital Phnom Penh, with a fourth under construction in Siem Reap.

Tourism is a major foreign currency earner for cash-strapped Cambodia. There were 1.7 million foreign arrivals last year, and more than half of the tourists visited the Angkor temples.

See Angkor and play golf [-What a desecration of Khmer cultural site and heritage]

Phokeetra Country Club in Siem Reap

Cambodia will host its inaugural golf tournament near one of the world's famous historical sites next week

Saturday November 24, 2007
Story By WANCHAI RUJAWONGSANTI
Bangkok Post

Cambodia will hold its first international golf tournament - the Johnnie Walker Cambodia Open - next week as concerned parties believe it will help boost the country's tourism industry and golf development.

Fittingly, the historic event will take place at Phokeethra Country Club in Siem Reap near Angkor Wat, one of the world's best known historical sites.

While the Cambodia Open is just a US$300,000 event which is dwarfed by multi-million dollar tournaments on the Asian Tour in recent weeks, it is an important competition for Tour players.

It is the penulminate event on the Asian Tour this year and players will be vying for top honours on the Order of Merit or to retain their Tour cards.

The organisers believe the inaugural Cambodia Open which tees off on Thursday will pave the way for the growth and development of golf in the country.

They say Cambodia's first professional golf event will provide the platform for aspiring amateurs to make an impact in the tournament. Leading amateurs from across the region will rub shoulders with the best players on the Asian Tour.

The tournament also aims to place Cambodia firmly on the international golfing map, unearth new home-grown talent and ultimately create a breed of champions from Cambodia.

"The game of golf continues to prosper in Asia," said Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han. "We are confident this tournament will act as a launch pad for exciting talent to emerge from Cambodia."

Amateurs from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, China and India will be invited to compete in the tournament.

Besides enhancing the professional golf landscape in Cambodia, the tournament is also expected to give sports tourism a major boost with the full support from Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism.

"With this event, we believe that it will show our commitment to the rest of the world our support for sports tourism in our country," said Tourism Minister Thong Khon.

"The combination of our historical tourist sites together with international sporting events like this will certainly give us an opportunity to welcome more visitors to our country - Home of World Heritage."

Phokeethra Country Club itself is steeped in the history of the region. Within its grounds stands an ancient Roluh bridge dating back to a Khmer empire in the 11th century AD and is older than the famous Angkor Wat which is located in Siem Reap.

It is said that the bridge once formed part of the ancient route that connected the Phimai ruins in Thailand with Angkor Wat.

Initially, the course was built with the purpose of serving clients at the Sofitel Phokeethra Royal Angkor Golf & Spa Resort, said Supachai Verapuchong, managing director of both the golf course and the hotel.

The idea of organising a golf tournament at Phokeethra was raised by a Cambodian journalist at a press conference to open the course last year.

Supachai later consulted the Asian Tour which agreed to fund half of the US$300,000 total prize money.

He then asked his friend who is a Johnnie Walker executive in Bangkok to sponsor the tournament. The executive was hesitant and did not give him a reply for a long time.

However, at a gala dinner earlier this year attended by a number of VIPs including Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Supachai told the executive that if he was willing to sponsor the tournament he would announce this before the guests.

Stunned by Supachai's move, the executive had no choice - and the Cambodia Open was born.

Supachai says a large number of foreign journalists are expected to cover the event. "Many of them will want to find out whether Cambodia which is new to golf can hold an international golf tournament," he said.

For his part, Supachai firmly believes Cambodia will be able to organise a golf tournament which will be there to stay on the Asian Tour's calendar.

Cambodia to present big events to attract more tourists [-It could attract even more tourists if corruption is curbed]

July 20, 2007

Cambodia will present big events late this year to attract more tourists to visit the country and help boost the economy and reduce poverty, said Tourism Minister Thong Kong here on Thursday.

"We will have night markets soon in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province, home of the Angkor Wat temples, organize the Johnnie Walker Cambodia Golf Open 2007 in Siem Reap, conduct better celebration of the Water Festival than previous years in Phnom Penh, hold half marathon in Siem Reap, and join the World Culture Expo 2007 from Sept. 7 to Oct. 26 in South Korea," he told reporters at the half-year review meeting of his ministry's work.

Cambodia is also preparing to host the Angkor International Tourism Expo 2007 in Siem Reap in early October and the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asia Nations) Boat Racing soon in Phnom Penh, he added.

"These events can show tourists that our country is stable and peaceful to visit," he said.

The plane crash in June, which killed 22 people, had limited impact on the kingdom's tourism industry, as the government had worked hard in the rescue operation and the aviation companies will strengthen the control of their planes' quality, improve safety measures for tourists and adopt better flight routes, he said.

In the first six months of this year, Cambodia received 975,349 tourists, about 20 percent increase over the same period last year, and most of them were from South Korea, Japan, the United States, Vietnam and China, he said.

At the end of this year, we estimate to have about two million foreign tourists in all, he added.

Last year, 1.7 million foreign tourists visited Cambodia, harvesting over one billion U.S. dollars for national revenues.

Tourism is one of the three pillar industries of Cambodia. The Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap, the clean beach resorts in Sihanoukville and the Phnom Penh city are travelers' hottest destinations.

Source: Xinhua