DID YOU KNOW - ISPS HANDA PERTH INTERNATIONAL
• ISPS HANDA will be the title sponsor for the fourth time since the event was first played in 2012, but was not played in 2015.
• For the fourth consecutive time the ISPS HANDA Perth International will be played at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
• Thorbjørn Olesen is the defending champion, having win the event, the last time it was played in 2014. He is looking to become the first Danish player to make a successful defence of a European Tour title.
• The Dane will be looking to win on The European Tour for the third straight season, following his triumph here in 2014 and at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2015. Should he win he would move to second in the current list of most consecutive winning years among active players.
• Including this tournament there have been eight official European Tour events held in Australia. The other seven are: the Heineken Classic (1996-2005), Johnnie Walker Classic (1997, 2002-03, 06, 09), Greg Norman Holden International (2000-01), WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship (2001), ANZ Championship (2002-04), Australian Masters (2007-09) and Australian PGA Championship (2016- Dec 15).
• The ISPS HANDA Perth International is tri-sanctioned between The European Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour. This will be second event in European Tour history which has involved these three Tours. The first was the Johnnie Walker Classic.
• Two of the years the Johnnie Walker Classic was tri-sanctioned in 2002 and 2003 the event was played at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, the venue this week and both times won by South African players, Retief Goosen in 2002 and Ernie Els in 2003.
• History was made at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in the 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic where Ernie Els broke the European Tour record for the lowest winning 72 hole total in relation to par of 259 (-29). The other new mark established by the four-time Major Champion was the lowest first 54 holes in relation to par of 193 (-23). His 72 hole total of 259 was only one shot behind the lowest winning total in European Tour history.
• His fellow South African Major Champion, Retief Goosen also put in name in the European Tour record books in 2002 Johnnie Walker Classic, also at Lake Karrinyup. On his way to victory in 2002 he established the largest the largest 54 hole lead of 13 shots.
• Large winning margins were the order of the day in both Johnnie Walker Classics staged at Lake Karrinyup. In 2002 Goosen won by eight shots and 12 months later Els won ten.
• Six different Australians have won European Tour events on home soil. They are: Jarrod Moseley (1999 Heineken Classic), Lucas Parsons (2000 Greg Norman Holden International), Aaron Baddeley (2001 Greg Norman Holden International and 2008 Australian Masters), Craig Parry (2005 Heineken Classic), Rod Pampling (2009 Australian Masters (played in November 2008) and Nathan Holman (2016 Australian PGA Championship).
