Siamese place Angkor Wat picture in front of the bathroom next to the foot mat

The offending picture

17 May 2010
DAP news
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Siem Reap province - On 16 May 2010, a group of Siamese staying at the Sofitel Phokeetra Golf and Spa Resort placed a picture of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat in front of the bathroom next to the foot mat.

Chhuon Rithy, the union president for the Sofitel resort, told DAP at 10AM that on Sunday, a group of Cambodian workers at the hotel opposed the placement of this picture because they believe that this is tantamount to looking down on Angkor Wat temple which represents Cambodia. He added that the Siamese refused to take the picture out, claiming that what they did was for greeting guests, not to look down [on Angkor Wat]. However, because of the displeasure and the opposition of the Cambodian workers, the Siamese finally removed the picture out art 3:30PM.

Chhuon Rithy indicated that the hotel owner, who is also a Siamese, rather than scolding his Siamese people, turned around and scolded the Cambodian employees who work there, saying that they did not administer properly. At the time of the scolding, the Siamese visitors were still staying at this hotel in Siem Reap.

Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open tees off today

Dec 11th, 2008
AsiaGolfOnline.com

The Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will start today at the the Phokeethra Country Club, with a promise of continuing the growth of golf in Cambodia.

Organisers are confident that the US$300,000 Asian Tour event will once again provide the platform for aspiring amateurs to make an impact at the highly rated Phokheetra Country Club and continue to place Cambodia firmly on the international golfing map.

Defending champion Bryan Saltus of the United States has vowed to make the best of his defence at this week’s US$300,000 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open, despite not being in the best of form.

The colourful American was painfully forced out of last month’s Barclays Singapore Open after dislocating his right knee on the first hole, raising doubts about his ability to defend his title at the Phokeethra Country Club this week.

Asian Tour’s Senior Vice President Gerry Norquist believes that the staging of Cambodia’s national championship bodes well for the future of golf in such developing countries and will act as a launch pad for exciting talents to emerge.

“We are truly excited about the return of the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open as this event will not only provide the inspiration for Cambodians to learn more about the game but also allow them follow in the footsteps of our Asian Tour professionals,” said Norquist.

As the second from last ranking event on the 2008 Asian Tour season, the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open will also shape the race for the prestigious Asian Tour Order of Merit title which is currently led by Mark Brown of New Zealand.

The Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open is the only international golf tournament to be held in the Kingdom of Cambodia and is part of a record 2008 Asian Tour schedule where an unprecedented 30 tournaments with nearly US$40 million are on offer.

Didier Lamoot, General Manager of Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort & Phokeethra Country Club said: “We truly enjoyed being a part of history last year with the staging of the inaugural Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open and will continue to assist in laying the concerted effort to push the game to continue its growth in our country.”

Cambodian Open launch in Siem Reap

November 26, 2007
Electric New Paper (Singapore)

THE inaugural Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open is poised for a historic launch when the event tees off at the Phokeethra Country Club on Thursday.

The US$300,000 ($432,000) Asian Tour event, which has the full backing of the Cambodian government, will be the first professional golf tournament in the emerging nation, where the aspiration is for a Cambodian golfer to some day lift the national Open.

A strong line-up of Asian Tour stars, led by Thai Thaworn Wiratchant, a former Asian No. 1 and holder of a record nine wins in the region, will compete at the Phokeethra Course, reported asiantour.com.


Other top names who will vie for the title include Thailand's Chapchai Nirat and Scotland's Simon Yates, both ranked in the top 10 of the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.

The Phokeethra Country Club is steeped in the history of the region. Within its grounds stands the magnificent ancient 'Roluh' Bridge dating back to a Khmer empire in the 11th century and is older than the famous Angkor Wat, which is also located in Siem Reap.

Johnnie Walker's general manager (Indochina), Sam Fischer, said: 'We are very honoured to have this opportunity to work with the Phokeethra Country Club and Asian Tour on the Cambodian Open, and we look forward to watching some truly inspirational golf in Cambodia.

'Most of all, the tournament is a platform to promote the philosophy that lies at the heart of the Johnnie Walker brand: Keep Walking.

'This philosophy is about inspiring people to take the next step on their journey towards their goals.'

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said he was looking forward to the first Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open, which is one of six new events scheduled this season.

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.

Cambodian Open offers launch pad for Asian amateurs

AFP

SIEM REAP, (Cambodia) October 17: Siem Reap will host the inaugural Johnnie Walker Cambodia Open next month; the Asian Tour will provide a platform for aspiring amateurs in the region to make an impact. The November 29-December 2 event will be first professional golf tournament to be staged in Cambodia and amateurs from Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, China and India will be invited.

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

"By inviting the leading amateurs from across the region, we believe that this experience and opportunity will enable an easier transition to professional ranks whenever they decide to make the next move in their careers."

The tournament at Phokheetra Country Club will have prize money of $300,000 dollars.

"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 Cambodian Minister of Tourism Thong Khon.