International Amateur Golfers Kick-Off WAITGC 2016 In Johor

JOHOR BAHRU, 7 March 2016 – The first round of the annual World Amateur Inter-Team Golf Championship (WAITGC) 2016 started today with the first qualifying round at Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club and Ponderosa Golf & Country Club, two well-known golf venues in Johor.

The 4-day qualifying round of the 23^rd edition of WAITGC is participated by nine teams from Australia, two teams from Brunei, 10 teams from Singapore, and four teams from Malaysia.

The tournament will first play at the Ponderosa Golf & Country Club, which offers a superb 18-hole layout that promises compelling golf experience and service with a smile. Ponderosa offers the only night golfing facility in Johor Bahru.

The participants will then continue at the Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club which is perfectly crafted for challenge. The club offers an exclusive 18-hole international standard golf course designed by Australian golf architect, Ross Watson, who applied the ‘risk reward’ design principle to the course.

WAITGC is one of Tourism Malaysia’s initiatives to promote the country as a top-of-mind golf destination in the region. It is played in Strokeplay gross for gross category and Stableford for the nett and senior category. The event has emerged as a well-regarded tournament and one of the highly anticipated annual golf events. WAITGC is managed by the Golf Club Managers Association of Malaysia (GCMAM) and sanctioned by the Malaysian Golf Association.

Since it made its debut in 1994, WAITGC has attracted more than 500 participants every year. As WAITGC is also open to members of the media, it consequently boosts the stature of the event and promotes Malaysia internationally as a top-of-mind golf destination.

Besides testing the skills of the participants, this homegrown golf tournament also helps to promote Malaysia’s tourist attractions as it encourages the participants and their families to explore the many interesting sights and sounds of the country.

Therefore, WAITGC is more than just a gateway for golfers to compete against golfers from other countries, or to test their talent and skills, and conquer some of the best fairways and greens in the country; it is also a perfect holiday package, where they get to visit some of the country’s best tourist attractions.

Golf Tourism has been identified as one of the priority sectors to increase the nation’s tourism contribution to the economy and has been underscored in the country’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). Last year, golf tourism receipts amounted to RM319 million.

-Tourism Malaysia.