Marksaeng heads inaugural Motorola International Bintan
BY Bruce Young | Asian Tour | 2007 Motorola International Bintan | Preview | 21 Mar 2007
The Asian Tour’s newest event, the Motorola International Bintan, hits the fairways of the Ria Bintan Golf Club’s Ocean Course this Thursday with a field befitting its name as an international event.
The Gary Player designed facility at Ria Bintan Golf Club is one of several courses on the island of Bintan about 50 minutes by ferry off the south east of Singapore. The Ocean course layout measures just over 7000 yards.
Bintan is one of the several islands that make up the Riau group in the South China Sea and has become a major getaway destination for Singaporeans, Indonesians and Malaysians.
The tournament has been put together by the Global Premier Sports Group and brings together a mix of golfers from the Asian, Japan and Australasian Tours although it is not officially a co-sanctioned event. The men behind GPS include Rod Lembruggen, who is well known in Australian tournament organisation circles for the success he had in the running of events like the Heineken Classic, and Patrick Janssen, who was previously with Octagon Sports before moving into player and event management.
Prayad Marksaeng is arguably the leading Asian player in the field, although last week’s brilliant winner of the TCL Classic in China, Chapchai Nirat, and yet another Thai, Thaworn Wirachant, are likely contenders. The Australians are led Peter Senior, Brad Kennedy, Kurt Barnes, Jarrod Moseley, Peter Fowler and Scott Hend although several emerging players have either earned or been granted a chance to play the event.
From the Japan Golf Tour Tatsuhiko Takahashi, a winner in each of the last two seasons on the Japan Golf Tour is in the field along with Takuya Taniguichi, who finished third in the Japan Open last year, and a host of others from that country.
