Ballantine's Championship
Encyclopedia
The Ballantine's Championship is a European Tour golf
tournament which was played for the first time from 13 to 16 March 2008 at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju
in South Korea
. It was the first European Tour event to be staged in Korea.
The tournament was announced in July 2007 by the European Tour in partnership with the Korean PGA, marking a continuation of the European Tour's expansion into Asia. The Asian Tour
, which had not been offered the co-sanctioning rights to which it felt it was entitled, responded by calling the event an "invasive" action that "colonised" Asia in "blatant disregard" of the "principles of the International Federation of PGA Tours", but six months later it agreed terms to co-sanction the event.
The prize fund in the first year was €
2 million (circa US$
2.9 million).
* Shortened to 54 holes due to bad weather.
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament which was played for the first time from 13 to 16 March 2008 at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju
Jeju-do
Jeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. It was the first European Tour event to be staged in Korea.
The tournament was announced in July 2007 by the European Tour in partnership with the Korean PGA, marking a continuation of the European Tour's expansion into Asia. The Asian Tour
Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The Asian Tour is administered from offices in Singapore...
, which had not been offered the co-sanctioning rights to which it felt it was entitled, responded by calling the event an "invasive" action that "colonised" Asia in "blatant disregard" of the "principles of the International Federation of PGA Tours", but six months later it agreed terms to co-sanction the event.
The prize fund in the first year was €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2 million (circa US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.9 million).
Winners
| Year | Winner | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Lee Westwood Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood OBE is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on every major continent, including victories on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He was named player of the year for the 1998, 2000, and 2009 seasons... |
276 (-12) | |
| 2010 | Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer.Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002... |
204 (-12)* | |
| 2009 | Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. He holds the record for most career victories and most career earnings on the Asian Tour.... |
284 (-4)PO | |
| 2008 | Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell Graeme McDowell MBE is a Northern Irish professional golfer.McDowell has won seven events on the European Tour, including the 2010 U.S. Open which was also his first win on the PGA Tour... |
264 (-24)PO |