The Johnnie Walker Classic on The European Tour, will return to the Alpine Golf and Sports Club, just outside Bangkok, from January 29 to February 1, 2004.
Ernie Els, the World Number Two and double winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic will be at Alpine Golf and Sports Club to defend the title he won in such convincing fashion earlier this year in Perth, Western Australia.
Els's win by ten shots was a record 29 under par 259, the lowest four round winning total in European Tour history. With five wins already around the world in 2003, the latest being the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, Els will be aiming to be the first player to record a hat trick of Johnnie Walker Classic victories.
The Johnnie Walker Classic is well known for attracting a world class field – this year five of the top ten players in the world competed at Lake Karrinyup Country Club – and as a result has benefitted from huge galleries and worldwide television coverage.
Since 1990, the Johnnie Walker Classic, which is tri-sanctioned by the European, Australasian, and Asian PGA Tours, has established itself as one of the Asia Pacific region's premier golf tournaments.
Past winners include Michael Campbell, Fred Couples, Retief Goosen, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and World Number One Tiger Woods, who has triumphed twice including in 2001, the last time the event was staged at the Alpine Golf and Sports Club.
The 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic will offer a record prize money of £1 million. It will be the fifth time the tournament has been contested in Thailand and the second at the Alpine Golf and Sports Club.
Stephen Morley, Global Brand Director of Johnnie Walker, said: "Johnnie Walker has been associated with golf almost since its creation in 1820 and we are proud that, almost 200 years later, the tradition continues. Thailand is an important market for Johnnie Walker, and we are thrilled to be announcing the event's return."
The organisers wish to thank the Thai Government, in particular the Minister for Sports and Tourism, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for their efforts and support that were critical to bring the event back to Thailand.
Minister of Sport and Tourism, Mr. Sontaya Kunplome, said: "We are proud that Thailand will again host the Johnnie Walker Classic. The event will highlight Thailand to the world as a safe, beautiful and world class tourist and golfing destination and will give the Thai people a chance to watch, first hand, some of the best golfers in the world like Ernie Els."
Announcements of other golfers who will be playing in the 2004 Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok will be made in the near future.
The Johnnie Walker Classic will be televised live in Thailand and broadcast to a potential 232 million homes in 23 countries around the world with news coverage in a further 72 territories worldwide.
