Panasonic Partners with Professional Golf of Malaysia on Tournament of Champions

19th December 2014, Kuala Lumpur – The Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) and Panasonic Malaysia today announced its sponsorship of the 2015 PGM Panasonic Open Malaysia – Tournament of Champions, scheduled for 7th to 10th January 2015 at Templer Park Country Club. This marks the first of 43 PGM tournaments scheduled for 2015.

The tournament will be open to participation from the current and past winners of PGM tournaments since the Tour’s inception in late 2010 and the winner will be rewarded with World Ranking Points in their quest to secure a place in the 2016 Olympics and a place to compete in the Panasonic Open India against golfers from across the Asia Pacific region.

The 2014 reigning champion is Kemarol Baharin.

A Pro-Am will be held on Tuesday, 6th January, with the tournament proper running from 7th -10th January where RM250,000 in prize money will be on offer.

Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, Chairman of Professional Golf of Malaysia, commented, “PGM welcomes Panasonic’s support of the season-commencing tournament that features the best players on the PGM Tour. Each of the participants in this unique tournament have captured one or more titles on the PGM Tour since its inception in 2010 and all are supremely qualified to represent Malaysia and themselves in the Panasonic Open India. Participation will allow them to add to their exposure playing in different conditions, in different countries, against the best in the region.

“PGM is glad to welcome Panasonic, a company with strong local presence, as a sponsor for an event which will carry world ranking points. The participants in this event comprise champions from the past four years, including foreign golfers who emerged champions in the ADT.”

Yosuke Matsunaga, Managing Director, Panasonic Malaysia, had this to say, “With many courses being built, golf is gaining popularity among Malaysians. We are hopeful that the PGM Panasonic Open Malaysia – Tournament of Champions will boost the status of the sport and create a platform for professional local golfers to showcase their capabilities regionally and boost Malaysia’s name in the international golf scene.”

In addition to the PGM Panasonic Open Malaysia – Tournament of Champions, Panasonic is also the proud sponsor of the “Road to Panasonic Open” series in Indonesia and Thailand, since 2012 and 2011 respectively.

“Panasonic’s participation is in line with our philosophy of contribution to society, encouraging healthy lifestyles through sports such as golf. We are proud to play a small role in creating excitement for Tournament of Champions through this sponsorship,” Matsunaga added.

About Panasonic Malaysia

Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a sales, service and marketing company for the Panasonic brand of electrical and electronic products ranging from audio visuals, home appliances, air conditioners, digital and video cameras, professional broadcasting equipment, business systems, telecommunications, health and beauty care to batteries and lightings. All Panasonic products are available through our authorized dealers nationwide. For more information on Panasonic, please visit www.panasonic.com/my or call the Customer Care Centre at 03-7953 7600.

About Professional Golf of Malaysia

Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) is a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered on 5th August 2010 in Malaysia. As a non-profit organisation, PGM’s objectives are to promote the sport of golf and to contribute towards its enjoyment and growth as well as to conduct and/or coordinate training on golf-related courses in order to enhance the playing capabilities and hone the skills of professional golfers in Malaysia. Our ultimate goal is to produce good Malaysian Professional Golfers in time for the Olympics in 2016 and to see Malaysians in the world ranking list.

The PGM Tour provides a platform for Malaysia’s professional golfers to enable them to focus on playing while PGM shoulders the responsibility of arranging and financing these tournaments.

To achieve these objectives, PGM organises a series of golf tournaments on an annual basis. In (2013) PGM hosted 22 tournaments offering prize money of over RM4 million, nine of which were co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and three with the ASEAN Tour. The schedule for 2014 features 25 tournaments offering prize money of over RM5 million, twelve of which are again co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and three with the ASEAN Tour.

The next season in 2015 promises an even bigger growth as the prize money now escalates to over RM6 million with both the Asian Development Tour and the ASEAN PGA co-sanctioning these events with us once again.

The expansion of the Tour on an annual basis and the increased prize money is an indicator of its vibrant growth year-on-year.

For further information, please log in to http://pgmtour.blogspot.com/