The inaugural World Corporate Golf Challenge Thailand finals were held at the Thana City Golf & Sports Club on Thursday, March 17. Organised by the Golf and Events divisions of Diethelm Travel, 126 business people in 63 corporate teams took part.
A briefing by Tournament Director David Pettigrew, Director of Golf Diethelm Travel, outlined the rules and programme for the day. Boardrooms and balance sheets were replaced with talk of golf tactics as the teams headed off to their respective tees for a 10 a.m. shotgun start.
“The turnout for the Thailand Finals has been fantastic and the standard of golf has been very high. The World Corporate Golf Challenge provides a unique opportunity for executives to meet and network, while engaging in sporting competition,” commented Pettigrew.
Kenth Fredin, left, of Team Inzentive collects the top prize at the World Corporate Golf Challenge Thailand finals.
World Corporate Golf Challenge Thailand Champions were announced at the Awards Dinner where organisers, Diethelm Travel, presented team Inzentive (Kenth Fredin and Michael Weinstein) with an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Finals in Simola, South Africa, 3 – 8 May 2011, where they will represent Thailand and have the chance to become World Champions.
Other prizes on the day were for ‘Best Nett Score, Ladies’, won by Suphida Onbanchong, and ‘Best Nett Score, Men’, won by Kenth Fredin. ‘Best Gross Score, Ladies’ was won by Suphida Onbanchong, and ‘Best Gross Score, Men’ by Sahaphan Lertbuntam.
Nearest the pin on hole 8 was won by Teerasak Mongkolpod and on hole 13 by Martin Hill. ‘Best Stableford Points Score, Ladies’ was won by Suphida Onbanchong, and ‘Best Stableford Points Score, Men’, was won by Kenth Fredin. Scores were calculated using better ball team stableford.
The World Corporate Golf Challenge is built on the principle of bringing the world of business together, evident at the Thailand Finals with top CEO’s and senior managers from both the public and private sectors participating.
The championship-ready Greg Norman-designed course proved challenging with its many sand traps, streams and lakes. A par 72 (6,400 yards), the course is long and challenging with island greens on holes four and five.
A competitor tees off on the challenging Thana City golf course.
With an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Finals the main attraction, on Hole 8 Diethelm Travel offered a THB1,000,000 cash hole-in-one prize. All competitors were eligible and under the careful eye of adjudicators and organisers, after 126 attempts the prize remained unclaimed.
Following an exhilarating round of golf, participants were treated to some light entertainment before the Awards Dinner in the form of Noel Hunt and his trick golf show. A former European PGA Tour Professional, Hunt has performed his unique show in over 50 countries and at over 200 major PGA Tour events.
Sponsors of the 2011/12 Thailand Finals of the World Corporate Golf Challenge include the Sports Authority of Thailand, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Official suppliers include Golf of Thailand, Jet Airways, Lenôtre, Nivea Sun, Wilding Golf and Wine Connection. Media partners include Bloomberg Businessweek Thailand, Business Golf, Business Report Thailand, Newspaper Direct, Pocket Guide GOLF Thailand, and local partner British Chamber of Commerce Thailand. For more information, www.worldcorporategolfchallenge-sia.com.
