$750,000 Resorts WM Masters in Asian Tour

RESORTS World Manila will host a $750,000 tournament in November under the auspices of the Asian Tour, giving the country the chance of staging three big international golf events for the first time.

To be known as the Resorts World Masters, the event will, fittingly enough, be held at the tough Manila Southwoods Masters layout in Carmona, Cavite, on Nov. 14 to 17 and serve as the final leg of the Asian Tour.

The country’s richest golf event in memory launches the five-year agreement forged recently between Resorts World Manila and the Asian Tour, which held the $300,000 Solaire Open at Wack Wack won by Taiwanese Lin Weng-tang some two weeks ago.

The purse of the Resorts World Masters eclipsed the $700,000 prize at stake in the Philippine Open, which comes next after more than a week. The Open tees off at Wack Wack under the OneAsia Tour.

Because of the big purse and the timing of the event, Asian Tour chair Kyi Hla Han said a crack international field is expected at the Resorts World Manila Masters since the Order of Merit title could still be up for grabs by then.

“It is our privilege to host a truly world-class golf championship in the Philippines that will showcase the professional game at the highest level,” Resorts World Manila COO Steve Reilly said during the tournament launch Saturday.

“We want our event to be the golfing pride of the Philippines.”

Also present during the affair, where the tournament logo was unveiled, were Han and other Asian Tour officials, Southwoods director Paco Gonzales and Angelo Que and Miguel Tabuena, two of the country’s top pros.

“It’s good for the sport in the country,” said Que, who came together with pro-bound wife Tracy Locsin-Que. “It’s also good for the Filipinos because we have the chance to play in many big events.”

The Asian Tour’s global television platform will beam the tournament live in over 200 countries.