A festival of international golf held in the beautiful beach city of Pattaya has come to a close after the most fantastic week.
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The festival, held in a city convention centre, was the 5th edition of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit and the showpiece, among the many exciting events, was the 12th Annual Asian Golf Monthly Awards. The week saw Pattaya graced by the presence of a number of world famous sportsmen from a variety of sports many of whom were in attendance at the award ceremony. British golfer and two times major winner Tony Jacklin was present to receive the Asia Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the world of golf. Jimmy Connors, a legend in the world of tennis also accepted his Asia Pacific Excellence in Sports Award for his legendary sportsmanship throughout his long career. From his home in South Africa, via a live video broadcast, the nine times major winner and one of the all-time golfing greats, Gary Player was inducted into the Asia Pacific Golf Hall of Fame. However, without doubt, the most popular award of the evening went to local Thai golfer, Thongchai Jaidee. He proudly accepted the Asia Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award, the first Asian professional win the prestigious title. The award ceremony reinforced the standing of Thailand as the best golfing country in the Asia Pacific Region, with the kingdom retaining its title as the Best Golf Destination in Asia Pacific. There were numerous awards for the golf courses in Thailand, with the Black Mountain Golf Club winning awards in two categories. The Siam Country Club (Plantation Course) in Pattaya won the award for the Best Maintained Course in Asia Pacific, adding to its already proud reputation as one of the top golf courses throughout the entire region.
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The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Suraphon Svetasreni, thanked the Asian Golf Monthly for once again staging the awards ceremony, and for recognising the quality of the golf facilities throughout the Asia Pacific region. He was particularly pleased with Thailand’s success and delighted that the country’s enthusiasm for the game of golf had been rewarded. Mr Svetasreni emphasised that the number of golf tourists to the country was on the increase and that the country’s success in awards would hopefully encourage more golfers to experience the wonderful golf courses and facilities the Kingdom has to offer. It was extremely difficult throughout the week to get a tee off time on any of the top golf courses in the Pattaya area due to the enormous influx of golfing tourists. As most of them had arrived for the festival, they were not going to miss the chance to play a round of golf on some of the most beautiful and challenging courses in the region. Once again Pattaya has held a first class golfing festival with top names from the world of golf and other sports coming to the city to appreciate the facilities and friendliness of the local people. The week only went to further Thailand’s reputation as the top golfing country in Asia Pacific and specifically Pattaya for hosting a world class golfing festival. |