Maybank Championship returns with US$3mil purse retained

PETALING JAYA: The Maybank Championship will return for its third edition next year.

The tournament, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour, will be held at the Saujana Golf and Country Club from Feb 1-4.

The US$3mil (RM12.64mil) purse has been retained and the tournament remains a 156-man competition – with 10 playing spots allotted for local professionals and a further five for SouthEast Asia’s up-and-coming golfers.

Maybank group president and chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said: “The Championship is a competitive platform that also seeks to uplift and unite the Asean region through the power of competition, fair play and camaraderie.

“Like this year, we will offer a total of five slots to promising young players from the Asean region to participate in our Championship where they will have the chance to pit their skills against some of the world’s best golfers.”

All competitors can expect a tougher Palm Course, which was upgraded recently.

The course, nicknamed “The Cobra”, has been further enhanced and lengthened so as to provide a more challenging environment at the Maybank Championship while reinforcing its status as one of the most difficult courses in the world.

In the past two editions, the Maybank Championship has been graced by some of the sport’s biggest names, including Major champions Danny Willett of England and Martin Kaymer of Germany and Asia’s finest like Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee and India’s Anirban Lahiri.

The field next year is just as tough. Maybank ambassador and national No. 1 Gavin Kyle Green, Nicholas Fung, Danny Chia and Ben Leong will lead the home challenge.

Australia’s Marcus Fraser won it in 2016 and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti was the champion this year.