The Chinese capital of Beijing has been named as the host city for the 2005 Johnnie Walker Classic on The European Tour International Schedule. This will be the first time the Johnnie Walker Classic has been played in mainland China, and marks an important milestone for the 14 year old tournament and the development of golf in China.
Ben Anderson, Johnnie Walker Global Brand Director, said: “We are thrilled to bring our prestigious event to the great nation of China. We hope that by bringing the Johnnie Walker Classic to China that we can help to build appeal and prestige for golf and recognition of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, both of which are undisputedly Scotland’’s greatest gifts to the world.”
The 2005 Johnnie Walker Classic, a tri-sanctioned event between the Tours of Asia, Australasia and Europe, will be played at the Jack Nicklaus designed Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club in Beijing from April 21 – 24, and is sure to attract some of the world’’s best players.
With record prize money of £1,250,000 - an increase of 25 per cent on last year - the Johnnie Walker Classic is one of the richest events in Asia and will be the biggest and richest tournament held in Beijing.
Hu Jian Guo, Vice Chairman of the China Golf Association, which has officially sanctioned the tournament, echoed Ben Anderson’’s enthusiasm for staging the event in China:
He said: “The Johnnie Walker Classic is one of Asia’’s great tournaments and we are very proud to host this event here in China in 2005. The Johnnie Walker Classic will give Chinese professional golfers the chance to compete alongside some of the best golfers in the world, and will showcase our strength in attracting and hosting world class events leading up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.”
The Johnnie Walker Classic, jointly owned by Johnnie Walker and IMG, was first staged in Hong Kong in 1990. Over the past 14 years, the event has been played in eight different Asian cities over ten different golf courses.
The popular tournament has always attracted world-class players and has been won by some of the best known names in international golf: England’’s Nick Faldo, the winner of six Major Championships, won the inaugural event in 1990 and again in 1993. American Tiger Woods, World Number One for a record 264 consecutive weeks, won in Phuket in 1998 and in Bangkok, both in Thailand, in 2000. Australian Greg Norman, the winner of two Major Championships, won in Phuket in 1994 when he was the World Number One.
American Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters Champion, won in the Philippines in 1995; Welshman Ian Woosnam, another past Masters Champion, won in Singapore in 1996. Ernie Els of South Africa, three time Major winner and World Number Two, won the Johnnie Walker Classic, on the Gold Coast and in Perth, Western Australia in 1997 and in 2003 respectively.
Michael Campbell of New Zealand won in Taipei in 1999. South African Retief Goosen, the current US Open Champion, won in Perth in 2002 and European Ryder Cup player, Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain, won the 2004 event in Bangkok.
Dr. Chan Chai, owner of the Pine Valley Golf Resort and Country Club, said:“As the most influential golf club in China, Pine Valley is proud to provide a challenging, world-class venue for the Johnnie Walker Classic. We look forward to promoting golf in China by welcoming many of the World’’s best players to our Club for what promises to be a great tournament.
