The UBS Hong Kong Open was given a massive boost ahead of the final round at the Hong Kong Golf Club with news that the total prize money for next year’s event is to rise by 66 per cent to US$2 million.
It means the winner will take home a first prize of US$333,330 and will also mean that, since 1999, prize money for the event has gone up by more than 560 per cent.
UBS has already initiated a 50 per cent increase in prize money for the 2005 tournament, the first year of its four-year sponsorship agreement. Players this year are competing for a total purse of US$1.2 million with the winner collecting US$200,000.
George O’Grady, Executive Director of The European Tour, said: “We welcome this announcement which is tremendous news for the continued development of the UBS Hong Kong Open and which follows on from the resounding success of this year’s event.”
Louis Martin, Asian Tour chief executive, said: “The increase in total prize fund to US$2 million is wonderful news and certainly reinforces the fact that Asian golf is going from strength to strength. The support and commitment from UBS in its first year as title sponsor of the Hong Kong Open is tremendous and we have been privileged to witness this week a championship that has raised the bar for other Opens to emulate."
Kathryn Shih, the chief executive of UBS Hong Kong Branch, said: “The increase in prize money firmly underlines our commitment to golf in the region and the UBS Hong Kong Open in particular.
“We are delighted to be so closely associated with a tournament of such great history and tradition and we believe this pledge of greater support will help the event become even more firmly established in the world golfing calendar.”
On behalf of promoter Parallel Media Asia, Martin Capstick, vice-president of sales and marketing for Asia-Pacific, said: “This huge increase in prize money is fantastic news for the players, fans and everyone else connected with the UBS Hong Kong Open.
“We are committed to attracting even more of the top players to the UBS Hong Kong Open and providing fans with some of the best sporting entertainment to be found anywhere in Asia. This increase in prize money is a huge step in that direction.”
The tournament is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event, having started in 1959, and has been held every year at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling. It first became co-sanctioned with The European Tour in the 2002 season when the tournament was won by José Maria Olazábal. Other winners have been Fredrik Jacobson (2003), Padraig Harrington (2004) and Miguel Angel Jiménez (2005).
