The PGM Tour was presented with the second installment of the RM1 million commitment made by UMW toward the PGM Tour over a three year period 2014-2016.
In a ceremony attended by Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, Chairman of the Professional Golf of Malaysia, Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, President & Group CEO, UMW Holdings Berhad and Mior Abdul Rahman, PGM General Manager, members of the press and electronic media were invited to witness the occasion at PNB Darby Park.
Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir handed over a cheque for RM333,333.33 to Mior Abdul Rahman, as Tun Ahmad Sarji oversaw the exchange.
UMW has been a vital part of the growing PGM Tour and Malaysia’s aspirations to have representation at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games where golf will be making a return after a long hiatus.
Their support of the PGM Tour via sponsorship of the PGM UMW Impian Championship, an ASEAN PGA co-sanctioned tournament, due to take place from 1-4 April 2015 at Impian Golf & Country Club, has enabled Malaysian professional golfers to gain invaluable Tour experience with the aim of having a Malaysian team qualify for the Rio Olympics before the closing date next year.
Tun Ahmad Sarji was eager to give praise where it was due, as UMW were steadfast in their commitment to transforming the face of professional golf in Malaysia. “UMW is very special, firstly they contributed towards the PGM calendar then they made the extraordinary gesture of contributing RM1.7 million to the Road to the Olympics, a very useful contribution given that we want to send two golfers to the Olympics and here is UMW at the forefront. It’s not impossible for us to have golfers in the Olympics considering the last five years and the training from MST, so I hope that the chosen golfers can measure up, thereby giving value to the funds contributed by UMW.
“In the corporate sector we talk about value creation. If money is provided to any sport in Malaysia, if there is no value creation sponsors get disillusioned and look elsewhere, so here in the case of corporate sponsorship for PGM there is value creation by utilising the funds.
“Firstly what money cannot buy is reputation. The PGM is emerging to be a reputable organisation in the world of golf. Another is the capacity of our golfers to burst into the world ranking. Without the PGM Tour and its sponsorship of ADT events through corporate sponsorships, our players would not be able to burst onto the World Rankings unless they go to the European or US PGA Tours.
“The third value creation by providing corporate sponsorship is putting money into the pockets of professional golfers. With the money that they win they can upgrade themselves, but most importantly we enhance the value of these golfers with the hope that they will move higher up the PGM Order of Merit, higher up the World Ranking, and they can secure corporate sponsorship. “This is what UMW’s sponsorship provides.”
Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, President & Group CEO, UMW Holdings Berhad, took the opportunity to say, “We have been a participant since 2011 and we identified golf to be part of what we term a ‘brand ambassador’ wherever it goes. We believe that our sponsorship to the PGM, the activities of the Academy and the Road to the Olympics, that we will be able to generate a golf Tour that will be able to bring our brand to Malaysia and outside of Malaysia as UMW is an international brand. Golf is one of the most popular sports in UMW and we believe through the small contribution we have made we can contribute to the growth of the sport for Malaysians as well as, together, bring up the name of UMW.”
The PGM Tour’s 2015 calendar currently features 31 tournaments, 12 of which offer World Ranking Points.
About Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM)
Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) is a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered on 5th August 2010 in Malaysia. As a non-profit organisation, PGM’s objectives are to promote the sport of golf and to contribute towards its enjoyment and growth as well as to conduct and/or coordinate training on golf-related courses in order to enhance the playing capabilities and hone the skills of professional golfers in Malaysia. Our ultimate goal is to produce good Malaysian Professional Golfers in time for the Olympics in 2016 and to see Malaysians in the world ranking list.
The PGM Tour provides a platform for Malaysia’s professional golfers to enable them to focus on playing while PGM shoulders the responsibility of arranging and financing these tournaments.
To achieve these objectives, PGM organises a series of golf tournaments on an annual basis. In (2013) PGM hosted 22 tournaments offering prize money of over RM4 million, nine of which were co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and three with the ASEAN Tour. The schedule for 2014 featured 25 tournaments offering prize money of over RM5 million, twelve of which are again co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and three with the ASEAN Tour.
2015 promises an even bigger growth as the prize money now escalates to over RM6 million with both the Asian Development Tour and the ASEAN PGA co-sanctioning these events with us once again.
The expansion of the Tour on an annual basis and the increased prize money is an indicator of its vibrant growth year-on-year.
