The Macao Open is set to return bigger and better than ever this year, with a record prize purse of US$750,000. Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, The Macao Open will be staged at the challenging Macao Golf and Country Club from September 15 to 18, 2011. Macao last hosted Asia’s best professional golfers in 2009 when Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand claimed his 11th Asian Tour victory.

Since its inception in 1998, The Macao Open has been a regular fixture on the Asian Tour calendar and has never failed to attract the world’s best players.  The tournament has been won by many world stars, including Lee Westwood of England (1999) and Colin Montgomerie of Scotland (2003).

Asian luminaries who have triumphed in the tournament include China’s Zhang Lian-wei (2001 & 2002), Lu Wen-teh of Chinese Taipei (2007) and Wiratchant (2009). Many other top names have competed in Macao previously, including Zimbabwe’s Nick Price, England’s Nick Faldo, Fijian Vijay Singh, Australian Steve Elkington, Americans Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington. 

Vong Iao Lek, President of the Macao Sport Development Board (MSDB), lauded the return of Macao’s flagship golf tournament on the region’s elite circuit. “We are delighted and honoured to stage the Macao Open once again on the Asian Tour. The Macao Open enjoyed tremendous success since its launch in 1998 and we look forward to a memorable edition in 2011,” said Vong.

In a first for the tournament, the Macao Open, which is a full-field Asian Tour tournament, will be beamed live over four rounds on the extensive Asian Tour’s global television platform.

“The MSBD and our new partner IMG, the world’s largest sports marketing agency which organises and represents some of the world’s most significant golf tournaments are excited to welcome back the Asian Tour stars to Macao. The tournament will continue to showcase Macao as a world-famous holiday destination. With the live television broadcasts, the Macao Open will go a long way in promoting Macao as a vibrant and exciting destination.

“It is indeed very exciting for the MSDB to be working closely with the Asian Tour again in our effort to support and promote professional golf at the highest level in Asia. With a record prize fund, we believe this is the start of a new and exciting chapter for the Macao Open,” added Vong.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han says the return of the Macao Open reinforces the growth of the Asian Tour, which in the first half of the season successfully launched two new tournaments – Panasonic Open (India) and Indonesian Masters with the inaugural K.J. Choi Invitational and Thailand Golf Championship to be staged in Seoul and Bangkok in October and December respectively.

“The Macao Open has a rich legacy and is one of the most popular tournaments amongst our players over the years. We are delighted to welcome back the Macao Open onto our Schedule.” said Han.

“The diverse culture and magnificent setting at Macao Golf and Country Club adds great allure to the tournament which has crowned many worthy champions in the past. With the Macao Open taking place in a very busy second half of the year on the Asian Tour, the tournament will play an integral part in our Order of Merit race. We are looking forward to seeing our top stars head to Macao to compete for a truly prestigious title,” he added.

Robbie Henchman, SVP IMG said “We are incredibly proud to be partnering with the Macao Sport Development Board with this event. We are also very thankful to the Asian Tour and the Macao Golf Association for their commitment to make this event possible. The Macao Open has built a great legacy in the past decade and we are delighted that this will be showcased through the Asian Tour Media’s ever increasing global distribution networks and will be telecasted live over four days supported by the Event Highlights, Asian Tour’s weekly and within Golfing World reaching 200 countries and over 800 million households worldwide.”