The Sarawak Championship will return for its second straight edition on the Asian Tour next month. To be staged on August 15-18 at the Arnold Palmer-designed Damai Golf and Country Club in Kuching, the capital of Sarawak, the tournament will once again offer a prize purse of US$300,000.
Supported by the Sarawak State government, the Sarawak Championship will offer the region’s leading players, along with talented professionals from Malaysia, the opportunity to vie for top honours at the full-field Asian Tour event. It will be the second event to be sanctioned by the Asian Tour in Malaysia after the Maybank Championship that took place earlier in March.
As part of its efforts to promote tourism in Sarawak through the staging of the Sarawak Championship, the Sarawak State Government will be able to leverage on the Tour’s global coverage via its digital media channels and television platform to achieve that objective.
Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO, credited the strong support and commitment of the Sarawak State government for the return of the Sarawak Championship and is confident of raising the stature of the event even further.
“The return of the Sarawak Championship to the Asian Tour’s schedule is made possible because of the vision and commitment of the Sarawak State government. We are grateful for their support and we look forward to strengthening this partnership for many years to come.
“We are also confident of delivering another exciting week of world-class golf to the local galleries and global audience through our media platforms,” said Cho.
American John Catlin sank a clutch birdie putt on the last hole to win by one shot for his second Asian Tour title at the inaugural Sarawak Championship last July.
He would go on to claim his third title in Chinese Taipei three months later and become only the 10th player in the Tour’s history to win three titles in a single season.
Catlin’s outstanding breakout year also saw him clinch the Players’ Player of the Year award at the end of the 2018 Asian Tour season.
Placed 186th on the latest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Catlin is set to headline the talented 150-man field from 18 countries when he defends his title at the Sarawak Championship next month.
Other notable players who will feature in the Sarawak Championship include Thai hotshots Sadom Kaewkanjana, Poom Saksansin and Prom Meesawat, as well as India’s Khalin Joshi and Ajeetesh Sandhu, all proven winners on the Asian Tour.
