July 2024 - Asian Development Tour

BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament set for ninth edition


The Asian Development Tour (ADT) will make its first stop of the season in Indonesia this year at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, after organisers confirmed today that the event will be played at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course, from August 21-24.

The ninth edition of the event, which proudly boasts PGA Tour star Tom Kim as a former winner, will be the sixth leg of the season and offer a purse of US$140,000 – one of the Tour’s most lucrative, and a 12% increase from last year.

Said Ken Kudo, General Manager, ADT: “The BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, first held in 2014, is one of the ADT’s anchor events and we are therefore delighted to announce its return this year.

“We thank BNI, the Ciputra Group and Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course, for facilitating the event’s return with a significant increase in prizemoney, and we look forward to another successful staging of the event.”

From a starting field of 144, 91 players from the ADT are exempt for the tournament, along with 40 from the Professional Golf Tour of Indonesia. There will be 13 invites from the promoter.

Last year, India’s Yuvraj Singh Sandhu took advantage of a hot putter to win by four shots. Playing in the penultimate group he posted a brilliant bogey-free final round 65, as his rivals fell by the wayside at Damai Indah Golf, BSD Course – which has hosted every edition of the tournament.

Remarkably, the tournament has been won by a player of a different nationality every year.

Kim beat Singapore’s Mardan Mamat to triumph in 2019, after overcoming a five- shot deficit on the last day. He was just 17 years old at the time, and it was just the second victory of his professional career, having won on the ADT two months earlier.

The other winners are Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai (2022), Miguel Carballo from Argentina (2018), Japan’s Masaru Takahashi (2017), Swede Oscar Zetterwall (2016), Michael Tran of Vietnam (2015) and Scotland’s James Byrne (2014).

Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig has taken the ADT by storm this year: he currently leads the ADT Order of Merit, thanks to two victories, and will be one of the favourites at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament.

ENDS


Organisers of the BRG Open Golf Championship have followed through on their commitment to the tournament by confirming today the third edition of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event will be staged in Vietnam next month.

The BRG Open prize purse now stands at US$100,000, with 25% of the fund coming from tournament partner SeABank.

Returning to the Legend Da Nang Golf Resort, the event’s home since its launch in 2022, it will be played over the Nicklaus Course from August 29-31 as the seventh stop on the ADT circuit and third time this year that the ADT has visited the emerging golf market of Vietnam.

“The Asian Development Tour is over-the-moon to see the BRG Open Golf Championship become a regular event on our schedule, and we thank title sponsor BRG Group, along with partner SeABank and supporting organizers Da Nang Tourism, for ensuring the return of one of our pillar events,” said Ken Kudo, General Manager, Asian Development Tour.

“Two years ago, the BRG Open Golf Championship became the first tournament in Vietnam sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour. The event played a very important role in our entry to Vietnam and is seen the most significant step that opened the door into this emerging market.”

“This pioneering golf tournament is very popular with our players and is always hotly contested here on the Nicklaus Course at Legend Da Nang Golf Resort. We have had great winners and exciting finishes here in the past and we expect to see another talented young champion lift the trophy at the end of the coming tournament week.”

Said Mark Reeves, General Deputy Director at BRG Group: “The BRG Open Golf Championship that we both sponsor and host here in Da Nang is a key component of our strategy to support the City to establish itself as a leading golf tourism destination.”

“The event also serves as a solid platform to inspire Vietnamese golfers and allows them to measure themselves against top talent in the region as they consider a career in the professional game.

Again, this year we are excited to see players from many countries come here to Da Nang to test themselves over the Nicklaus Course – arguably the best tournament course in the country today.”

On behalf of our Group chairman Madame Nguyen Thi Nga I can say: “We are very proud of our involvement in this tournament and our association with the Asian Tour that gives us an opportunity to showcase the very best of what Vietnam has to offer today.”

The tournament will boast a strong international field of 144 players from across the region, including 110 ADT members who will play alongside 20 professionals and elite amateurs nominated by the Vietnam Golf Association plus 14 invites.

Australia’s Aaron Wilkin triumphed last year, succeeding China’s Chen Guxin.

The impressive Da Nang City venue – a member of Asian Tour Destinations – boasts two 18-hole courses, one designed by Jack Nicklaus and the other by Greg Norman.

The Nicklaus Course will be used for the BRG Open Golf Championship.

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