New tour to offer more big money tournaments

Australian golf officials support a new OneAsia Super Series, which has divided opinion in the region, because the schedule will likely involve about 20 tournaments by 2011, each offering at least $1.5 million in prize money.

"This ... is just the first step in creating an elite platform of golf that runs from Delhi through to Auckland," commissioner Ben Sellenger of the PGA Tour of Australia said Tuesday in a tour newsletter.

"It's a platform that will sit above and complement the regional tours ... and give the players from all the bodies involved the chance to compete on a tour that's a genuine alternative to the (U.S.) PGA and European tours.'

Sellenger said he was confident the 2011 OneAsia schedule, which would take in tournaments from the Australasian, Japanese, Korean and Chinese tours and become the world's third-largest golf tour, would involve at least 20 tournaments.

He said it would allow players from each country the chance to remain active on their respective home tours. At least 16 Australasian PGA Tour players will be eligible as part of a minimum 76-strong Asia-Pacific contingent in a field of 156.Sellenger, who has moved to Singapore to coordinate the new program, said he hoped to add to the six tournaments announced this year.

The Asian Tour, which sanctions golf on the continent, opposes the OneAsia series and has been critical of the Australasian PGA's motives in establishing it.

The Japanese tour backed away from joining the OneAsia series this year but plans to join from next year, potentially increasing the number of events to 12 or 14 for 2010.

The six tournaments announced for 2009 are scheduled to start with the $2.9 million China Open next month, and include the Australian Open and Australian PGA, two other events in China and the Korean Open.

Golf Australia chief executive officer Stephen Pitt reaffirmed his support for the OneAsia series.

"We believe in the concept and we are genuinely excited about the benefits we believe the OneAsia Series will deliver, not just to the Australian Open, but also to golf in the Asia-Pacific region," Pitt said in a Golf Australia media release.

The Asian Tour has been opposed to a rival continental golf series and initially sought clarification on the involvement of Chinese events it sanctions.

"The Asian Tour is shocked and disapproves of this desperate attempt by the PGA of Australia to revive its flagging domestic circuit, through its proposed creation of a series by listing events which are already part of the Asian Tour schedule," Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said in the statement earlier in the year.

The Asian Tour, the successor to the Asian PGA first played in 1995, will sanction 28 tournaments across the region in its 2009 calendar, with 16 of them co-sanctioned by either the European Tour or the Japanese, Korean, Indian or Australasian tours.

The increased presence of the European Tour in Asia had created friction in recent years, as the Asian Tour seeks to assert its primacy in the region, while it had also sought co-operation with the powerful national tours across north Asia.

Singapore's Mardan Mamat wins Mercedes-Benz Masters

Singapore's Mardan Mamat fired his fourth successive sub-70 round to win the 60,000-dollar Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore on Saturday. 

The 41-year-old shot a three-under-par 69 at Laguna National Golf and Country Club to record his maiden title on the Mercedes-Benz Tour and a three-stroke victory over Thailand's Varut Chomchalam. 

Varut returned a 66, while a stroke further back were defending champion Pariya Junhasavasdikul and Indonesia's Rory Hie. 

Mamat started the day with a two-shot lead over Hie and despite dropping a shot on the first he stormed away from the chasing pack with birdies on three, six, 11 and 14. 

"It feels great to win. I was up against some really good young players like Rory, Varut and Pariya so this is an excellent result which has given me more confidence for the rest of the season," said Mamat. 

The Singaporean finished with a four-round total of 14-under-par 274 and earned a cheque for 9,750 US dollars. 

"Obviously I know the course very well so that is a big advantage and my ball striking was really good and so I am delighted about that," added Mamat, who won the Singapore Masters on this course in 2006. 

Varut carded the best round of the day thanks to a brilliant back nine of five-under-par 31. 

"It was one of my best ever rounds but Mardan was just too far ahead," said Varut. 

It is the second time the young Thai golfer has finished runner-up on the Mercedes-Benz Tour. He was runner-up in Malaysia last year and is clearly a player to watch in the future. 

Pariya closed with a 68, while Hie carded a 71. First-round leader Lam, who had a four-shot lead in this event last year before being caught by Pariya, finished outright fifth after coming in with a 71. 

The next event on the Mercedes-Benz Tour, which this year features nine events, is the Singha Pattaya Open from April 2 to 5. 

Leading final round scores: 

274 Mardan Mamat (SIN) 69 69 67 69 
277 Varut Chomchalam (THA) 69 73 69 66 
278 Pariya Junhasavasdikul (THA) 71 70 69 68, Rory Hie (IDN) 70 72 65 71 
279 Lam Chih Bing (SIN) 67 72 69 71 
281 Wisut Artjanawat (THA) 71 71 71 68 
283 Tanatchan Puaktes (THA) 72 71 70 70, S Siva Chandran (MAS) 69 72 70 72, 
Rey Pagunsan (PHL) 68 73 69 73 
285 R Nachimuthu (MAS) 74 71 70 70 

WACHOVIA NAME GETS THE AX IN GOLF TOUR

Wells dumped the Wachovia Bank name it acquired in a takeover last year of the flopped bank, and immediately withdrew the Wachovia name from the sponsorship of one of the PGA's most popular tornaments, the Wachovia Tournament in Charlotte, NC.

It also said it would slash bonuses for top management for more savings of millions a year alone.

Wachovia had agreed to provide up to $6.3 million in annual purse prizes for the tournament in a deal ending 2014, but questions arose on some aspects of the event's future.

Since Wells Fargo has taken $25 billion in federal rescue money, the company felt it would score more points by distancing itself from the golf game.

"Given the merger integration with Wells Fargo and Wachovia, we believe it no longer makes sense to invest in promoting the Wachovia brand via the tournament," said David Carroll, head of wealth management at Wells Fargo.

"In the current environment, we also believe that promoting this event with our brand could send mixed signals about our priorities to many of our stakeholders."

Wells Fargo said, however, that plans to honor sponsorship obligations and hasn't determined what the tournament will be named in future years, said spokeswoman Mary Beth Navarro.

Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf and Chairman Richard Kovacevich are among executives who won't receive bonuses for 2008 because Wells Fargo didn't meet its performance goals, the bank said.

Earlier this week, lawmakers criticized Northern Trust Corp., which also got federal aid, for spending at a recent company-sponsored PGA tournament in southern California.