Mercedes-Benz Masters back to Emeralda Country Club

The Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia, one of the country's premier professional golf tournaments, will return to Emeralda Golf and Country Club this year and form the penultimate leg of the season on the Mercedes-Benz Tour.

The tournament will be played from Oct. 14 to 17 and boast prize money of US$60,000, six-time increase from last year's $10,000.

It will play a key role in determining who can compete in the season-ending Mercedes-Benz Masters Vietnam in November - which as the Tour Championship is restricted to the top-60 players from the Order of Merit.

A quality field is therefore expected with leading players from Southeast Asia such as current Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit leader Antonio Lascuna of the Philippines, Malaysian Danny Chia and rising star Namchok Tantipokhakul of Thailand.

The full-field event will also see Indonesia's top players compete such as Andik Mauludin and Rory Hidayat Hie, who claimed The International Championship last year.

Hie, who attended the University of Southern California, was the seventh ranked amateur in the world having enjoyed four amateur wins in United States.

"We are looking forward to build upon the success of last year's inaugural Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia and stage an event that will once again be one of the highlights of the season on the Mercedes-Benz Tour in 2009," Rudi Borgenheimer, president & CEO Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, said in a release on Friday.

A total of eight events feature on this year's schedule which began with Singapore round won by home golfer Mardan Mamat.

"As well as many of the region's best players competing in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia try to put their name on the trophy, we will also see competitors jostling for final places in the year end Tour Championship," added Borgenheimer. - JP