Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters 2009

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22 April 2008

Aberdeen Asset Management today announced its title sponsorship of a major new European Seniors Tour event in Brunei, Borneo. The Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters will take place at the Empire Hotel and Country Club from 26 February - 1 March 2009 and will be a welcome return to the European Seniors Tour for Aberdeen Asset Management. The timing of the event will also coincide with Brunei’s ‘National Day’ which falls on Monday 23 February on 2009.

The course at the Empire Hotel and Country Club is a Jack Nicklaus designed course which has hosted the Brunei Open on the Asian Tour since 2006. It can also boast some of the most stunning views in Brunei with the front nine holes overlooking the ocean from high ground, while the back nine reach to the sea.

Confirmed players include Sam Torrance and Bernard Gallacher, both of whom have been linked with golf in Brunei in the past. A European Seniors Tour event is especially relevant to Brunei as many of the top names in golf were invited by Royal invitation to Brunei in the early 1990's. Many of these players are now regular competitors on the Seniors Tour and to return to Brunei some twenty years later to play in the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters would be a monumental occasion.

Shuif Hussein, Chief Executive of the Stapleford Forum said of the event:

"The Stapleford Forum is the business and networking forum of Stapleford Park and we are delighted to be involved in the first European Seniors Tour in Asia to be held in Brunei on its 25th National Day. We are honoured to play a role in promoting Brunei to the UK and Europe and look forward to a reunion of the biggest names in golf in one of Asia's best resorts."

Aberdeen’s existing golf sponsorships include European Tour golfers Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie, Ladies Professional Golf Association player Mhairi McKay, and the Scottish Amateur Golf Team. The UK-based global asset management company also sponsored the Ladies Scottish Open for the first time at The Carrick near Loch Lomond earlier this month.

Charlie Perring, Deputy Managing Director of the European Seniors Tour said of this new addition to the 2009 European Seniors Tour calendar:

”We are delighted to have this opportunity to visit such an exciting destination as Brunei, which will be a first for the European Seniors Tour. Our thanks must go to our Title Sponsors Aberdeen Asset Management and the Government of Brunei and to our Promoters WSM Sponsorship for enabling this tournament to take place. We look forward to the challenge that the Empire Golf & Country Club will provide for us and the part we can play in promoting Brunei to a worldwide audience.”

Aberdeen’s existing golf sponsorships include European Tour golfers Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie, Asian Tour golfer Simon Yates as well as Ladies Professional Golf Association player Mhairi McKay. Aberdeen is also a strong supporter of golf at an amateur level, evident in their sponsorship of the Scottish Golf Union. The UK-based global asset management company are also sponsoring the Ladies Scottish Open for the first time at The Carrick, Loch Lomond from 1 - 3 May 2008.

Commenting on the new sponsorship, Martin Gilbert, Chief Executive of Aberdeen Asset Management said:

“We are proud to continue our support of the European Seniors Tour, following our successful three year association with the British Senior Open. Aberdeen Asset Management's sponsorship of the Brunei event combines our long-standing commitments to the Asia Pacific region and to golf. ”

The event promoters, WSM Sponsorship and the Stapleford Forum have driven this tournament forward from inception to its launch. A major international live TV deal is currently being brokered which will serve to promote not only the tournament but Brunei as a leading global golf destination. Commenting on the tournament Andrew White, Chief Executive of WSM Sponsorship said:

“Seniors golf is important to WSM, we are the current leading independent promoter on the European Seniors Tour and run events throughout the world including Barbados, Jersey and Poland therefore we are keen to see the schedule grow not only in the number of tournaments but in the territories into which we are taking Seniors Golf.”