Safety precautions will be prioritised when the Faldo Series Asia makes a much-awaited return with the staging of the first leg of its 2020/2021 season in Thailand later this month.
Ahead of the Faldo Series Thailand Championship – Pattaya at Pattana Golf Resort from October 30 to November 1, no stone is being left unturned in ensuring the health and well-being of all players and officials in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Matthew Faldo, director of the Faldo Series, said: “It will be great to see the Faldo Series Asia back up and running after the difficulties the world has faced this year. We thank all those who have made it possible for the Series to resume.”
Faldo said a variety of new safety measures are being implemented and tournament hosts around the world are being encouraged to utilise the Faldo Series platform for online entries, scorecard scoring and live leaderboards.
As well as being able to take entries, those using the Faldo Series App will be able to manage the fields, produce a draw and run live scoring.
“Our latest technology doesn’t require paper scorecards, eliminating concerns about cross contamination from passing cards back and forth. The scores will cross check themselves and ensure any errors are cross checked before final sign off, which is also done via the App.
“Utilising the App will also allow for live leaderboards to be displayed for all players and visitors and throughout the host venue. From our experience in the United Kingdom, this has taken away a lot of the administration headaches and added a new dimension to the quality of player experience that we can provide,” noted Faldo.
The 2020-21 Faldo Series Asia season is supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation.
As well as the Thailand qualifiers, events are being planned for Australia, Bangladesh, China, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam over the coming months, subject to prevailing conditions and circumstances. The 14th and 15th editions of the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final are being planned at Vietnam’s Laguna Lăng Cô in March, 2021.
Established in 1996, the Faldo Series expanded to Asia in 2006. Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, touching more than 7,000 golfers each year. Past champions include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners, as well as LPGA Tour winners Thidapa Suwannapura (2010 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) and Nasa Hataoka (2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion).
