Ballantine's Championship

The Ballantine's Championship (known as The Championship at Laguna National in its final year) was a European Tour golf tournament which was played from 2008 to 2014. It was the first European Tour event to be staged in South Korea.

The Championship at Laguna National
Tournament information
LocationSingapore
Established2008
Course(s)Laguna National Golf & Country Club
Par72
Length7,206 yards (6,589 m)
Tour(s)European Tour
Asian Tour
Korean Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundUS$1,500,000
Month playedMay
Final year2014
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 Graeme McDowell (2008)
264 Jeev Milkha Singh (2008)
To par−24 as above
Final champion
Chile Felipe Aguilar
Location map
Laguna National G&CC is located in Singapore
Laguna National G&CC
Laguna National G&CC
Location in Singapore

From 2008 to 2010, the tournament was played at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju. From 2011 to 2013, the tournament was played at Blackstone Golf Club. In 2014, the event has moved to Laguna National Golf & CC in Singapore and titled as The Championship at Laguna National.[1]

The tournament was announced in July 2007 by the European Tour in partnership with the Korean PGA,[2] marking a continuation of the European Tour's expansion into Asia. The Asian Tour, which had not been offered the co-sanctioning rights to which it felt it was entitled, responded by calling the event an "invasive" action that "colonised" Asia in "blatant disregard" of the "principles of the International Federation of PGA Tours",[3] but six months later it agreed terms to co-sanction the event.[4] The prize fund in the first year was 2 million (circa US$2.9 million).

Winners

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Year Tours[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
The Championship at Laguna National
2014 ASA, EUR   Felipe Aguilar 266 −22 1 stroke   Anders Hansen
  David Lipsky
Ballantine's Championship
2013 ASA, EUR, KOR   Brett Rumford 277 −11 Playoff[b]   Marcus Fraser
  Peter Whiteford
2012 ASA, EUR, KOR   Bernd Wiesberger 270 −18 5 strokes   Richie Ramsay
2011 ASA, EUR, KOR   Lee Westwood 276 −12 1 stroke   Miguel Ángel Jiménez
2010 ASA, EUR, KOR   Marcus Fraser 204[c] −12 4 strokes   Gareth Maybin
  Brett Rumford
2009 ASA, EUR, KOR   Thongchai Jaidee 284 −4 Playoff[d]   Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño
  Kang Sung-hoon
2008 ASA, EUR, KOR   Graeme McDowell 264 −24 Playoff[e]   Jeev Milkha Singh

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ ASA − Asian Tour; EUR − European Tour; KOR − Korean Tour.
  2. ^ Rumford won with eagle on first extra hole
  3. ^ Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.
  4. ^ Jaidee won with birdie on first extra hole
  5. ^ McDowell won with birdie on third extra hole

References

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  1. ^ "Laguna National to host 'The Championship'". PGA European Tour. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Ballantine's brings first European Tour event to Korea". PGA European Tour. 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  3. ^ Garrod, Mark (3 July 2007). "Asian Tour left fuming". Sporting Life. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  4. ^ "Asian Tour co-sanctions Indian Masters". The Telegraph India. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
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