The PGA Tour recently announced a multi-year agreement to bring the Champions Tour to Asia for the first time with the debut of an official tournament in the fall of 2010.
The tournament will be played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo International Business District (IBD), located 40 miles west of Seoul in the country’s largest current economic development project. Songdo IBD is being developed by Gale International, a New York-based real estate development and investment firm. Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is being co-developed by Gale International and Kitson & Partners, a leading golf community and club development company.
“This is a significant step for the Champions Tour to expand the reach of our brand globally with some of the most recognizable and accomplished players in the game,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. “The Korean market is an important one to the PGA Tour and we welcome this addition to the Champions Tour schedule and the opportunity to further elevate golf in South Korea with an event of this magnitude.”
“The golf course awaiting the Champions Tour players is totally created, but one we believe will be world class,” Jack Nicklaus said. “The project is right off Incheon Bay, so the golf course provides bay and harbor views. As you move across the golf course, the look and playing experience will change throughout. We offer a seaside links look coming off the water, transitioning into a combination of sand, rocks and trees, and finally a more treed, parkland feel. The idea is to give you a sense that you are moving inland.
“I think the players will find the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea to be an exceptional golf course and club,” Nicklaus continued, “and, with the addition of this event, can only add to the exciting things happening within the game of golf in South Korea and enhance its fast-growing reputation worldwide.”
The 54-hole stroke-play tournament will feature a record $3 million in official prize money with the winner set to collect $450,000. It will also be a part of the Champions Tour’s season-long competition, the Charles Schwab Cup, which offers $2.5 million in annuities to its five leading point-earners. The event will be broadcast in South Korea on SBS, Golf Channel will broadcast all three rounds in the United States and coverage of the event will be distributed internationally.
“We have long recognized the strategic importance of a presence in Asia,” said Mike Stevens, President of the Champions Tour. “Our players are excited about this opportunity to showcase the Champions Tour in South Korea, especially at another prestigious Jack Nicklaus venue. We applaud Jack for his support of this tournament and for his initiative and vision in bringing this event to fruition.”