Kuala Lumpur, December 14: Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos and Richard Siemens, one of Hong Kong’s foremost corporate leaders, have accepted invitations to become Patrons of the Asian Tour.
Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin said today that Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev will also take up a position as a member of the Board of Directors.
The Asian Tour recently held its first Annual General Meeting in Hanoi and the playing membership unanimously nominated the trio to play leading roles in the organisation, which Martin believes will reinforce and accelerate the growth of the Asian Tour.
In another key announcement, Myanmar’s Kyi Hla Han was elected as Chairman of the Asian Tour Board of Directors. The former Asian number one was one of the prime movers of the establishment of the Asian Tour in January, 2004 in Singapore.
The first Tournament Players Committee (TPC) was also elected at the AGM and will be headed by India’s Amandeep Johl as Chairman.
Martin said: “We are delighted to announce that His Excellency President Fidel Ramos, Mr Kapil Dev and Mr Richard Siemens have all agreed to accept key roles in the Asian Tour. They are highly respected leaders in their own fields and our playing membership is confident they will play prominent roles in the continued growth of the Asian Tour.”
Ramos, who is an avid golf fan, is respected across the region as a golfing statesman. He said in a statement to the Asian Tour. “To all the esteemed members, I accept this great honour as a Patron of the Asian Tour. The future of the Asian Tour is extremely bright and I commit to the entire organisation my best efforts to make it even brighter.”
The 45-year-old Dev, who led India to their first World Cup cricket success in 1983, is looking forward to spreading the word of the Asian Tour, especially in his native India.
“Golf is one of the top sports in the world and in Asia. I want to help push the game harder and bring it to more countries. Every person can play golf and it is one of my goals to ensure that more young people have the opportunity to play the game,” said Dev, who retired from cricket in 1994 and is now a two-handicapper in golf.
“We need heroes in this part of the world. We need a Tiger Woods in Asia, so that people can look up to him and follow in his footsteps. I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas with the other Board Members. China is growing, India is growing and Asia is an important part of the world. “
Siemens is the co-chairman and executive director of Sunday
Communications, a mobile operator in Hong Kong. He is also the chairman and a founding member of Distacom and chairman of e- Kong Group Ltd, a company listed on the Stock Exchange.
He has been involved in the telecommunications industry for 27 years. Born and raised in Canada, Siemens was trained as a Chartered Accountant and came to Hong Kong in 1979. In 1984, he was involved in the establishment of Hutchison Telephone Company Ltd with Hutchison Telecommunications Ltd, and was also involved in the establishment of other well-known companies including AsiaSat, STAR TV and Metro Radio.
Siemens said: “It is a tremendous honour for me to have been extended an invitation by the Asian Tour to become a Patron. The Asian Tour is moving in the right direction and I am looking forward to being a part of its continued growth.”
In the Annual General Meeting, India’s Johl was elected as the Chairman of the Tournament Players Committee (TPC) and will also sit on the Asian Tour Board of Directors with Han, Dev, Martin, Siemens, Rick Gibson and Gerry Norquist. Gibson and Norquist are playing members on the Asian Tour.
Last week’s Volvo Masters of Asia in Kuala Lumpur marked the end of a successful first season for the Asian Tour. In total, 22 tournaments were staged with US$12.3 million on offer for the Asian Tour’s finest players.
The Asian Tour announced the first half of its 2005 Schedule recently which will consists of a minimum 14 events with total prize money of US$11.5 million. This is a massive increase on the 2004 first half which offered US$8 million.
Two new events will make their debut next year, the inaugural CGA Championship in China from June 2-5 and offering US$1.25 million and the US$300,000 Brunei Open two weeks later. Both events will be full field Asian Tour tournaments.
ASIAN TOUR
Asian Tour Patrons: His Excellency Fidel Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Richard Siemens
Asian Tour Board of Directors: Kyi Hla Han – Chairman, Louis Martin – Chief Executive, Richard Siemens, Amandeep Johl, Rick Gibson, Kapil Dev, Gerry Norquist
Tournament Players Committee: Amandeep Johl – Chairman, Glenn Joyner, Anthony Kang, T.C Chen, Mike Cunning, Olle Nordberg, Rick Gibson, Clay Devers, Lu Wen–teh, Andrew Pitts, David Gleeson, Boonchu Ruangkit, Hendrik Buhrmann, Mardan Mamat,
Dominique Boulet
Chuah Choo Chiang
Communications Manager
Asian Tour
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The Asian Tour is the official sanctioning body for professional tournament golf in Asia. Established in Singapore on January 5, 2004, the Asian Tour represents the interest of its members and staged 22 tournaments in 2004 with total prize money of US$12.3 million. The Asian tour’s mission is to expand tournament golf so as to substantially enhance the careers of its members, thereby developing and growing golf in Asia while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game.