United Distillers and Vintners, joint owner of the Johnnie Walker Classic, Asia Pacific’s premier golf tournament, have announced that the 2002 event on The European Tour International Schedule, will be held at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, in Perth, Western Australia from January 24-27.
The competition, twice won by Tiger Woods, is organised jointly between Johnnie Walker and IMG, with support from the Western Australian Government. It offers a minimum of £800,000 in prize money (approx A$2.2 million), making it Australia’s richest golf tournament.
Founded in 1928, Lake Karrinyup has twice been the venue for the Australian Open (won by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player) and the Western Australian Open (won by Greg Norman). The club has 1780 members and, before it was redesigned and lengthened in January this year, had a course record of 66.
Stephen Morley, Global Director for Johnnie Walker, commented: “Our announcement today of this great venue is just the beginning of the story for the 2002 Johnnie Walker Classic. We are looking forward to a fantastic and a very different type of golfing event. The Johnnie Walker advertising all over the world celebrates the progress that people make in their lives. Through this event we will celebrate the amazing achievements of some of the world’s best golfers.”
Western Australian Tourism Minister Clive Brown said the announcement was great news for tourism in Western Australia. He said: “Global television coverage of the Johnnie Walker Classic will create greater awareness of the state and its international-standard golf courses and facilities.
“The tournament provides us with an opportunity to promote golf tourism to Western Australia, particularly in the key markets of Japan and South East Asia. “
The Johnnie Walker Classic is Asia Pacific’s premier golf event, now in its 11th year. It is tri-sanctioned by the Europe, Australasian and Asian Tours. Previous editions have been won by Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.
Johnnie Walker is the World’s Number One Scotch whisky with annual sales of approximately 10 million nine litre cases. It is owned by Guinness UDV, of Diageo one of the world’s leading consumer goods companies. Formed in December 1997 through the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness. Diageo has an outstanding portfolio of world famous food and drinks brands.
