 The
TGA is also considering holding an associated pro-am game with the proceeds
donated to the disaster's victims.
"We would like to let foreigners know that now Phuket is safe," said a
TGA spokeswoman on condition of anonymity.
The association decided to change the location to Phuket about a week
after the Dec. 26 tsunami because it thought that such a move might benefit
the area's ailing tourist industry.
Prize money for the March 3-6 Thailand Open, part of the Asian Tour
schedule, will be US$500,000. The tournament had originally been scheduled
for Pattaya, a resort area on
Thailand's eastern seaboard that was unaffected by the tsunami.
Thailand's public and private sectors have pitched in to try to revive
tourism in the southern resort areas around Phuket, whose many hotels and
related businesses are desperate for customers.
More than 5,300 people in Thailand are confirmed dead from the tsunami,
and another 3,100 unaccounted for. But most hotels in the affected parts of
southern Thailand, especially in Phuket itself, suffered little or no
damage.
Louis Martin, Asian Tour chief executive said in a statement that the
organization was fully supportive of the change in venue to Phuket's
Blue Canyon Country Club "in view of the recent misfortune that hit
parts of Asia as well as Phuket,
Thailand."
"Our board chairman Kyi Hla Han has already mooted suggestions to raise
funds during the event and this could be through a charity Pro-Am or an
auction where Asian Tour stars could donate their equipment or memorabilia,"
Martin said. "We will do our best to help in Thailand's recovery from this
terrible disaster."
The TGA spokeswoman confirmed that the proceeds from a pro-am game might
be donated to tsunami victims, but said that plans had not yet been
finalized.
The Asian Tour has already announced a "Tsunami Relief Fund Pro-Am" on
Jan. 31 at Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course in
Singapore, with proceeds
to go to international humanitarian relief efforts. |
