Held for the first time in 2008, The Ballantine’s Championship was South Korea’s first European Tour event. It was initially played at the Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju in South Korea but moved to Blackstone Golf Club in 2011.
The tournament was initially the object of some controversy, as the Asian Tour was not initially sanctioned co-sanctioning rights. After expressing some indignation, the Asian Tour did agree to co-sanction the event.
The event is sponsored by Ballantine’s, a manufacturer of fine whiskies. In an a nice tradition, Ballantine’s awards the winner of the Championship an exclusive Championship Blend. The tradition began in 2009 when Master Blender Sandy Hyslop invited Graeme McDowell to select his favorite whiskies, to produe that year’s Championship Blend.
The 2013 Championship Blend, which was created with the help of last year’s winner Bernd Wiesberger, consists of high quality grain and malt whiskies, aged for at least 41 years. Just ten individually numbered bottles of this limited edition whisky have been produced, with one being auctioned for charity during the tournament.
Blackstone Golf Club, Inchon, South Korea
A complete list of tournament winners is below:
|
Year |
Winner |
Country |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2013 |
Brett Rumsford |
Australia |
277 (–11) |
|
2012 |
Bernd Wiesberger |
Austria |
270 (–18) |
|
2011 |
Lee Westwood |
England |
276 (–12) |
|
2010 |
Marcus Fraser |
Australia |
204 (–12)* |
|
2009 |
Thongchai Jaidee |
Thailand |
284 (–4)PO |
|
2008 |
Graeme McDowell |
Northern Ireland |
264 (–24)PO |
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Ballantine’s Championship has come a long way though it is still relatively one of the newest tours but I enjoyed 2009’s that saw Thongchai Jaidee at the top.