Star-Studded Field Getting Ready For CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters

Jakarta, 4 April 2013 - Multiple Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa expressed his excitement to compete against a star studded field at the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters on the Asian Tour next month.

During a live video call from Florida, where he is at the moment in preparation for the Masters, Els was interviewed by the Indonesian press gathered for a press conference at the Sari Pan Pacific hotel.

During the same press conference it was also confirmed that golfing star Bernd Wiesberger of Austria, who finished tied seventh in last year’s CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters and went on to win the Ballantines Championship in Korea the week after, will be playing the event. Wiesberger has risen through the world rankings quickly since coming onto the European Tour scene and is starting to make a name for himself throughout the globe.

His presence in the tournament adds more attraction to the US$750,000 Asian Tour event played at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club from May 2nd–5th. Tournament organizers also took the opportunity to welcome some new sponsors and partners to the event including Garuda Indonesia, Loewe Home Entertainment, Ricoh and Concha Y Toro.

“I am very pleased with how the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters is developing. Since coming on as title sponsor in 2012, CIMB Niaga has been very clear about its vision to bridge the gap in golf in Indonesia. Our dream is to see everyone’s potential maximized from Juniors through to Professional golf and if we can provide a solid platform to assist this, we are achieving our goal to develop golf in the nation.” said Gatot Subagio, Head of Corporate Communications of PT. Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk.

Besides all the positive news there was also some disappointing news for the fans of Indonesia's best player Rory Hie, who now has confirmed that he will not be playing at the Indonesian Masters. Like last year he will be playing at the Volvo China Open scheduled the same week.

Indonesia PGA Chairman Syafei Asnap stressed however that despite the absence of Rory there still is a strong Indonesian representation in the Indonesia Masters, and he doesn't rule out an Indonesian winner.

With less than 30 days to go till the US$750,000 prize purse event kicks off, sponsors and partners are preparing themselves for a great event. Jakarta can look forward to witnessing a “Clash of the Titans” event on the fairways and greens of Royale Jakarta Golf Club.


L-R: Adrian Wahyudi (Royale Jakarta), Gatot Subagio (CIMB Niaga) and Syafei Asnap (Indonesia PGA) indicate that all is ready for the Indonesia Masters to kick off next month.

The CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters has cemented its place as the nations most prestigious event and continues to grow since its inauguration in 2011. Great things are planned for this event, which has a strong family of sponsors all sharing the same vision of making the event into one of the biggest in the ASEAN region one day.

The event also focuses on giving back to the community through its charity initiatives together with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia. To date, the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters has managed to build 25 homes for families in need and together with National Energy Company, Pertamina, built a clean water solution for over 10,000 people in the Cilamaya area.

The CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will have widespread exposure via a strong local media platform and the Asian Tour’s global television platform, which reaches out to over 200 countries and 650 million households on the Live, Highlights, Asian Tour Golf Show and Golfing World. Indonesia’s premier news channel, Metro TV, will also be broadcasting the event locally for 10 hours live and will be airing additional shows and features related to the event and the positive impact to the golf industry and overall economy of Indonesia.

Partners include Title Sponsor CIMB Niaga, Salonpas by Hisamitsu (Main Partner), BMW (Official Car), Navigat Energy (Main Partner), Telkomsel (Official Communications Partner), Garuda Indonesia (Official Airline), Sari Pan Pacific Hotel Jakarta (Official Hotel), Rolex (Official Time Keeper), SvingGolf (Official Apparel), Loewe (Official TV), Concha Y Toro (Official Wine), Ricoh (Official Office Supplier), Srixon (Official Ball) and San Miguel (Official Beer).