10 Malaysians To Play Against Retief Goosen and K.J. Choi in Iskandar Johor Open 2009
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, 7 October 2009 – Ten local professionals have claimed their spot in the Iskandar Johor Open 2009 (IJO 2009) and will tee off with some of the best golfers from the Asian Tour. Following a grueling challenge across the Royal Johor Country Club's (RJCC) greens, these tenacious few have earned the right to play alongside two-time major winner and defending champion, Retief Goosen and Korean K.J. Choi who join an all star line up of players at the USD 1 million (RM 3.6 million) IJO 2009 between 22 October to 25 October 2009.
Playing a balanced game throughout the day was Lim Eng Seng, who shot 70 to finish in top spot for the qualifier. It wasn't an easy win however as he was dogged every step of the way by Haziq Hamizan and Shaifubari Muda who claimed the second and third position respectively. Shaifubari in particular put up an early challenge, leading the way with a score of 33 in the first 9 holes before Lim took charge of the game to race ahead to the top position.
"I am very pleased to see ten of our local players qualifying for this prestigious tournament - especially as six of them had previously qualified to play in the Malaysian Open 2009 held earlier this year and have already gained some experience against an international field of players. They'll no doubt be perfecting their skills for the upcoming challenge and I believe we will see a tremendous effort and a very good showing from them during the Iskandar Johor Open 2009," enthused Manjit Majid Abdullah, organizing secretary of the Iskandar Johor Open.
As part of the Johor Golf Association’s drive to promote golf in the country, today's Qualifier was reserved for Malaysian professional golfers. The top 10 players who returned the lowest gross score qualified to play under the Qualifier's Winners category.
Joining the top three qualifiers were Sukree Othman, Mohd Sharif Solhairy, R. Nachimuthu, Zamri Shariff, C.M. Chong, Akmal Tarmizee and Andrew Hassan. These seven players shot between 73 and 75 to earn their spot in the tournament from a among the 43 Malaysian professionals who took part in this year's qualifiers.
"Play went very smoothly today. There were no delays and everyone was very professional. The course looks very good and I am sure that these qualifiers will go far in the tournament," said Quek Swee Kim, Tournament Director of the IJO 2009 Malaysian Qualifiers, after play had ended.
There was understandably plenty of excitement on the course as the players battled to earn a place in the final 10. Andrew Hassan, who claimed the 10th spot, took part in the qualifier last year but missed the playoff by 1 shot, was ecstatic after the results were announced.
"I played well today. My short game was quite good and I had 1 birdie to shoot 75. I need to work on my driving. The play-off went well for me, I had a short chip to the green and then a 3 foot putt for par. The greens on the course are good, a bit firm but the putts are rolling well on this green. My aim for the tournament is to enjoy it, play well and make the cut," said Andrew as he celebrated his inclusion in the top 10.
Dubbed one of the largest golf tournaments in Malaysia, the IJO 2009 will be played at the RJCC in Johor Bahru, Johor. Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Johor Golf Association and the Malaysia Golf Association, the tournament is expected to attract between 144 and 156 players from around the region.
The final starting field list is expected to be announced two weeks prior to the event and will include the Asian Tour’s best: Order of Merit Winners, winners of multiple events, tournament winners, sponsors’ exemptions, today's top 10 finishers from the IJO Qualifier for Malaysian Pros and 5 winners from the Open Qualifier.
An Additional 5 places will be available at the Open Qualifier which will be held at Palm Resort Golf & Country Club, Johor on Monday, October 19 2009. This qualifier is open to all professional golfers of any nationality. Details for this qualifier are available on the Asian Tour website.
IJO 2009 will once again be broadcast live over ESPN STAR Sports, reaching out to over 120 million homes around the world.
The main sponsor of the Iskandar Johor Open is the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). It is also supported by platinum sponsor - UEM Land Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya which is a key driver of Iskandar Malaysia. Other co-sponsors include Iskandar Waterfront Development and UM Land. Official partners are TaylorMade Adidas Golf, 100 Plus, Srixon, Winston Wine, Dewars, Ricoh and the Puteri Pacific Hotel.
For more information on the tournament please visit www.iskandarjohoropen.com.
About Iskandar Johor Open
The first edition of the Iskandar Johor Open (IJO) was held in 2007 when it was played from Aug 23 - 26 at the Royal Johor Country Club (RJCC) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Carrying a purse prize of US$300,000, the inaugural tournament saw a total of 156 players from 25 countries. The tournament was won by Artemio Murakami of the Philippines. Murakami came from two off the lead with a near-flawless closing 68 to take the title by one stroke from compatriot Tony Lascuna and the seasoned Scot, Simon Yates for his maiden win on the Asian Tour.
South African Retief Goosen went on to clinch the coveted trophy in the US$ 500,000 Iskandar Johor Open 2008. 144 golf professionals from the Asian Tour battled it out at the Royal Johor Country Club from 30 October – 2 November 2008. The 2nd edition of Iskandar Johor Open was fully sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Malaysian Golf Association and Johor Golf Association and boasted some of the world’s top players – Retief Goosen, Niclas Fasth, Thongchai Jaidee amongst others.
2009 will mark a milestone in the history of Iskandar Johor Open, with a 100% increase in prize money to US$ 1,000,000. The main sponsor of the Iskandar Johor Open is the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). It is also supported by platinum sponsor - UEM Land Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya which is a key driver of Iskandar Malaysia. Other co-sponsors include Iskandar Waterfront Development and UM Land. Official partners are TaylorMade Adidas Golf, 100 Plus, Srixon, Winston Wine, Dewars, Ricoh and the Puteri Pacific Hotel.
IJO 2009 will once again be broadcast live over ESPN STAR Sports, reaching out to over 120 million homes around the world.
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