Zurich chose a propitious moment for its decision to co-sponsor the event. It comes on the heels of Korean golfer Y.E. Yang’s victory over Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship tournament last weekend. Yang became the first Asian golfer to win one of the four “majors.” His success highlights the increasingly international nature of the ancient game, and, as a result, makes sponsoring tournaments a more attractive proposition for international companies like Zurich.

The Group’s bulletin explained that the “event is a joint initiative by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the Masters Tournament and The R&A [Royal and Ancient St Andrews - the Scottish home of golf] and will feature a field of up to 120 top amateur golfers from golf associations across the Asia-Pacific region.

“An invitation to play in the 2010 Masters Tournament awaits the winner, while both the winner and the runner-up will gain a place in International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship being played next year at St Andrews, Scotland.”

Geoff Riddell, Zurich’s Chairman of Global Corporate & CEO of Asia Pacific & Middle East, expressed his support for “such an exciting event.” He indicated that it would give Asia-Pacific amateur golfers a “chance to compete in two of the most important and famous golfing events in the world.” He also described the tournament as a “unique platform for the amateur game in a region where golf’s popularity is increasing significantly.”

Riddell added: “Zurich is already a proud sponsor of golf tournaments in Switzerland, the US and around the world and sees golf as a perfect metaphor for Zurich’s customer focused brand positioning ‘deliver when it matters’.”

Source: Zurich Financial Services – www.zurich.com

中文

苏黎世金融服务集团签约成为亚洲业余高尔夫球锦标赛的五个独家合作伙伴之一。比赛计划在位于中国深圳观澜湖高尔夫球俱乐部的世界杯球场举行，时间为10月29日到11月1日。
集团选择了一个有利的时机与其他机构共同赞助这次比赛。赞助活动的开展紧接上周末韩国人梁荣银在PGA巡回锦标赛上赢了老虎伍兹之后。梁荣银是亚洲第一名赢得四大满贯之一的亚洲球手。他的成功让这项运动的国际色彩更浓厚。作为一个国际化的公司，集团选择赞助巡回赛是一个有吸引力的决定。
集团的公告解析这次业余比赛是亚太高尔夫球联合会，大师赛，和圣安德鲁斯市皇家古典高尔夫俱乐部的共同提议，120名来自亚太地区顶级的业余高尔夫球手将齐聚竞技。
“本次大赛的冠军将获邀参加2010年大师巡回赛，同时冠军和亚军将参加明年在苏格兰圣安德鲁斯举行的公开巡回赛的国际预选赛。”
集团全球公司的主席，亚太和中东地区的执行总裁，杰夫•里德尔说他十分支持“本次激动人心的赛事”。他说“比赛能给亚太地区的业余高尔夫球手一个机会去参加世界最著名的两项高尔夫球盛会。”他同时形容本次赛事是“一个可以让来自一个高尔夫球蓬勃发展的地区的业余运动员同台竞技的独特平台。”
里德尔说道：“集团在瑞士，美国，和世界各地已经多番有幸资助高尔夫球赛。集团认为，高尔夫球就好像公司的品牌定位，有需要的时候就要瞄准起杆。”

The text is from: Zurich to Sponsor Inaugural 2009 Asian Amateur Golf Championship.