Indonesia Open Will Be Held, Golf Promoter Says

The Jakarta Globe, Wimbo Satwiko

Global One, the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open promoter, claimed on Wednesday night that the biggest golf event in the country would still be part of the Asian Tour in 2010, though it has yet to confirm the date or venue.

“The Indonesia Open is on its way, and Global One is still the event promoter. We can’t confirm the exact date and venue yet,” said a Global One representative in Indonesia, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the Indonesian Golf Association (PGI) has not made an official announcement.

As a co-sanctioned event, he said, the Indonesia Open has to adjust its date with the Asian and European Tours’ calendars. While the event does not have problems with the Asian Tour, the traditional late February date for the tournament will be sandwiched between the WGC Accenture Championship, Feb. 15-21 in Arizona, United States, and the Maybank Malaysia Open on March 4-7.

The representative said it would be hard to attract top-ranked players if organizers insisted on hosting the tournament in late February.

“Besides,” he added, “the monsoon season will arrive by then.”

“Currently we’re still negotiating with the European Tour on the February 24 to 28 date, but perhaps we could also move the tournament to October,” he said.

The Indonesia Open, with $1,250,000 in prize money, claims to be the richest sporting event in Indonesia. Last year’s event was held at the New Kuta and Ocean View Resort in Bali from Feb. 26 to March 1.