LIN HEADLINES BALLANTINE’S TAIWAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Kuala Lumpur, August 16, 2010: Lin Wen-tang, one of Asia’s top stars, will spearhead the local challenge at the inaugural Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on the Asian Development Tour next week.

Lin, a five-time winner on the Asian Tour, will be the main draw card at the US$90,000 event which will be staged at the North Bay Golf and Country Club from August 26 to 29.

He will be joined by younger sibling Wen-hong, compatriots Lu Wen-teh, also a multiple winner in Asia, Lu Wei-chih and Hsu Chia-jen, who is ranked fourth on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit.

Among the other prominent names who will gather in Taipei include Malaysia’s Akhmal Tarmizee, Rory Hie of Indonesia, Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul and Singaporean Quincy Quek – all regarded as the region’s future stars.

The Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship is the first tournament in Taipei to be included on the newly launched Asian Development Tour where the top three golfers on the Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the Asian Tour next season.

Lin, who was the runner-up in the 2008 Asian Tour Order of Merit, has enjoyed a mixed season so far but showed flashes of his best form with a tied eighth outing at the Brunei Open last month.

He knows that a home victory at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship will be the catalyst for him to shoot for more glory on the Asian Tour which is packed with lucrative events in the second half of the year.

The unheralded Hsu is showing signs of joining his countryman’s career path by sharpening his skills on the Asian Development Tour. He finished in tied third position at the Air Bagan Myanmar Masters in January and went on to claim a tied 18th place finish at the Negeri Sembilan Masters Invitational last month. He knows a good result on home soil will push him up further on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit.

Pariya, who earned his Asian Tour card after finishing fifth in the 2009 Qualifying School, has been in sensational form after claiming three top-10s. He will be hoping to translate his recent surge in form with a victory at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship.

Singapore’s rising star Quek will also be another player to watch out for in the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship. The 23-year-old is highly rated after enjoying a solid amateur career where he represented Singapore.