Arjun Atwal
A strong field will tee off at the €2.2 million (approximately US$2.8 million) Ballantine’s Championship next week.
The line-up includes three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and India’s Arjun Atwal, who made history by becoming the first Indian to win on the US PGA Tour at the Wyndham Championship last year.
Reigning Asian Tour number one Noh Seung-yul and Asia’s first Major champion Y.E. Yang, an honorary member of the Asian Tour, will carry Korea’s challenge at the Blackstone Resort in Seoul.
Thongchai is no stranger to success at the Ballantine’s Championship, having won the championship in 2009. The 41-year-old, who served in the Royal Thai Army as a paratrooper before turning professional at the age of 30, also holds the most number of victories on the Asian Tour with 13 titles.
Having won an unprecedented three Order of Merit triumphs in 2001, 2004 and 2009, Thongchai is presently the most successful golfer in Asia. He is also the leader of the career earnings ranking with over US$4 million in winnings since breaking into the scene in 1999.
Thongchai has shown that he is the man for the big occasion and will undoubtedly be among the leading contenders for the prized title. In 12 seasons on the Asian Tour, the Thai star has finished outside the top-10 of the merit list only twice to cement his reputation as one of the most consistent performers on the region’s elite circuit.
Atwal, a former Asian Tour number one in 2003, will also be looking for more success following his PGA Tour triumph where he was also the first Monday qualifier to win a tournament in 24 years.
The 38-year-old Indian who is now based in Florida will return to Asia with an eye on the chance to add another title to his seven Asian Tour wins.
Other Asian Tour stars in the exciting line-up of heavyweights include Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang, who finished second on the Order of Merit in 2008, India’s Jeev Milkha Singh, a six-time Asian Tour winner and Singapore’s Mardan Mamat who enjoyed a tied-sixth finish at the Ballantine’s Championship last year.
Defending champion Marcus Fraser, who promptly took up an Asian Tour membership to expand his playing opportunities following his win at the Ballantine’s Championship last year, will also be part of the world-class field that includes England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter and American Dustin Johnson, who will be making his first competitive appearance in Korea.
The 2011 Ballantine’s Championship will once again be co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korea PGA.
Blackstone Golf Club, in Icheon, just south of Seoul, will host the event for at least the next three years. It is the first time that the exclusive venue – which opened only in 2009 and has just 300 members – has staged a professional tournament.
