More than 140 golfers competing for prize money of US$300,000 will tee-off this morning at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in northern Taiwan.
The 2001 Acer Taiwan Open is both the premier golfing tournament in the country, as well as the midway point in the 21-leg Davidoff Tour.
"We have players from 16 different countries with nearly two-thirds of them associated with the Davidoff Asian PGA Tour," said John Cappo, vice president of IMG Taiwan.
He said that the Taiwan Open, in past years, has hosted such golf notables as Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, and Craig Parry.
Last year, it was Vijay Singh who visited Taiwan as the special invitee and he went on to take a first-place finish and thus round out a terrific year which also saw him win the US Masters Tournament.
This year's invited PGA player is Scott Hoch, winner of 10 PGA tournaments and a member of the 2001 US Ryder Cup Team.
Hoch has been one of the PGA's most consistent golfers -- routinely finishing within the top 10 since joining the tour in 1980.
Consistency has paid off for Hoch as he is currently No. 4 on this year's money board, and cumulatively, No. 5 with total winnings of US$14.4 million.
This year, has Hoch chalked up victories in the Advil Western Open and the Greensboro Chrysler Classic.
While many may be eagerly following Hoch, others will be watching 34-year-old Thai national, Thaworn Wiratchant who looks to extend his streak of two consecutive wins (the Volvo Masters in Malaysia and the Alcatel Singapore Open).
It's a momentous occasion as no player in the seven-year history of the Asian PGA has yet to extend his streak to three-in-a-row.
Another attraction is the debut of 10-year-old golfer, Chang Kung-chih (
Chang is currently attending grade five of the Experimental Elementary School of National Chengchi University where he maintains excellent grades and a very respectable stroke average of 82.
Aside from these notables, many believe that it is the multitude of unknown Asian golfers who will be the main attraction.
In actuality, Asian golfers have done exceedingly well this year, winning eight out of a total of 10 tournaments on the Davidoff Tour -- the two other victories being taken by Fijian, Vijay Singh.
The success of local golfers is an endorsement of the Asian PGA which, for the first time last year, became a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours.
On the money end, Acer will be this year's title sponsor contributing the bulk of the prize money, followed by other corporate heavyweights like Japan Airlines, Citibank, Sunrise Golf and Country Club and Mercedes-Benz.
Incidentally, Mercedes will donate a luxury-class automobile to anyone who is lucky enough to record a hole-in-one on the 16th hole.
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