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| October 5, 2005 | Wednesday | Sha’aban 30, 1426 |
Golf: Karachi to host Pakistan Open next January
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4: The Asian Tour will break new ground next January with the staging of the Pakistan Open in Karachi. Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF), which has organised the Pakistan Open since 1967, recently concluded an agreement to stage its Open on the Asian Tour for the first time from next year.
The initial agreement is for a three-year duration, Asian Tour News reported on Tuesday.
The 2006 Pakistan Open will offer total prize money of US$200,000 and will be played from Jan 19-22 in Karachi, with the venue to be announced in due course.
“This is an important development for Pakistan golf. One of PGF’s objectives is to elevate the stature of the Pakistan Open and we believe that we will achieve this by working closely with the Asian Tour,” stressed PGF honorary secretary Taimur Hassan.
“Pakistan has some wonderful golf facilities to host international-class championships.
“It has been nearly 10 years since Pakistan last hosted an international tournament and we feel that we need to catch up with world golf.
“By hosting the Pakistan Open on the Asian Tour, it will help realise our goal,” added Taimur.
Taimur added that the PGF was not planning to host the Open this year and was putting in all its resources to ensure the success of the 2006 Pakistan Open.
He firmly believed that the ground-breaking development would also accelerate the growth and playing standards in Pakistan.
Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin was delighted to seal an historic deal that will take Asia’s best players to a new destination next year.
“One of our visions is to create playing opportunities in developing golf nations.
“We have successfully hosted new events in Vietnam and Brunei previously and the agreement to stage the Pakistan Open is a wonderful development for the Asian Tour.”
The Pakistan Open has primarily been a domestic event since its inauguration nearly 40 years ago.
In 1989, the championship was part of the old Asian circuit where the event was won by Filipino star Frankie Minoza, who still plays on the Asian Tour.
“Pakistan has some wonderful golf facilities to host international-class championships. It has been nearly 10 years since Pakistan last hosted an international tournament and we feel that we need to catch up with world golf. By hosting the Pakistan Open on the Asian Tour, it will help realise our goal.”—PPI
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