Asian event garners list of sponsors

Harkening to the practice of its co-founders, the newly formed Asian Amateur Championship will be bolstered by a coalition of major sponsors, event officials announced on Wednesday evening.

IBM, KFC, Rolex and Zurich Financial Services Group agreed to become sponsors of the event that will send its winner to the 2010 Masters Tournament. The inaugural Asian Amateur Championship will be played Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China.

"Valuable partners are integral in fulfilling our mission and ensuring the event's success," said Tommy Lee, the chairman of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation which governs the event. "Our goal is to create heroes throughout Asia that will, in turn, inspire others to take up this great game."

The Asian Amateur was co-founded in February by the APGC, the Masters and the R&A as an initiative to grow the game in the burgeoning golf continent.

The winner will earn a coveted 2010 Masters invitation and an exemption into the International Final Qualifying for the British Open.

The growth of the sport in Asia got an unexpected boost on Sunday when South Korea's Y.E. Yang rallied to beat world No. 1 Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National to become the first Asian-born winner of a men's golf major.

Combined with last Thursday's announcement that golf was forwarded to the IOC executive committee for final approval as one of two sports to be included in the 2016 Olympic Games, it has been a big surge in golf's globalization efforts.

Billy Payne, the Augusta National Golf Club and Masters chairman, hailed the Olympic news as another big step forward in the growth of the game.

"The impact of including golf on sport's largest stage is inspiring," Payne said in a release, "particularly to those committed to sharing this great game to a worldwide audience of aspiring golfers."

It is unusual for an amateur event to have such high-profile sponsors. IBM is also one of the three limited sponsors for the Masters.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.