Parry is a household name in Australian golf and has won two PGA Tour and six European titles in a stellar career. This included a miraculous eagle with a 6-iron from 176 yards on the first playoff hole to win the Ford Championship at Doral. Nicknamed ‘Popeye’ for his powerful forearms, Parry boasts three top-10 finishes in Majors and has won 14 titles on the PGA Tour of Australasia, two on the Japan Tour and the Indonesia Open.
“I’m actually playing quite nicely at the moment. I hit eight-under the other day and I feel that my game is right there so Luxehills fits in perfectly as I just need to get out there and play some tournaments,” Parry said.
“Playing for US$1 million is going to be fantastic. For OneAsia to have all these events and players coming from around the world shows it’s in its ascendency and will eventually be one of the major tours in the world.”
Stolz rose to prominence after winning the 2004 Michelin Championship during two seasons on the US PGA Tour and has also won on the Japan Tour. The Brisbane-born 39-year-old won last year’s Cellarbrations Victorian PGA Championship for his fourth Australasian Tour title.
David Smail, who last August finished joint 67th in the PGA Championship in his third Major of the year, leads the Kiwi contingent heading to Chengdu.
New Zealand's highest-ranked golfer, the 1.95-metre tall Smail has competed in nine Majors and won the 2001 New Zealand Open before forging a successful career on the Japan Tour, where he has won five titles.
“I’m really looking forward to Luxehills. It sounds like a great event,” Smail said. “I’ve played in China in the last couple of years at the World Cup and played way back in 1993 in a series of tournaments there, so I’ve played a few times there, but it’s been a while and I’m looking forward to getting back.
“I’ve been practising a lot at home in Hamilton and am playing a tournament this weekend, so hopefully my form will be okay and I’ll take that to China.”
Australian Ashley Hall, who won the 2009 Subaru Victorian Open and 2007 Victorian PGA titles, is looking forward to returning to China after his brilliant joint-third finish at last year’s Volvo China Open, co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the European Tour.
Paul Sheehan, whose six career victories include three on the Japan Tour, is one of a host of multiple winners on the PGA Tour of Australasia also heading to Chengdu.
Jason Norris’s victory in this year’s Subaru Victorian Open was his third Australasian title, Steve Bowditch is another three-time winner, while Andrew Bonhomme and Aaron Townsend both won their second career titles last year.
Mitchell Brown and Michael Curtain are other Australians in form after securing breakthrough victories last year.
Smail’s compatriot Michael Long is among the New Zealanders signed up for Luxehills. The 1.88-tall Long made his name by winning the New Zealand Open in 1996 and has won six career titles, including most recently the 2008 Western Australia PGA Championship
Australian Scott Strange, who won last year’s Volvo China Open and topped the inaugural OneAsia Order of Merit, and China’s Liang Wenchong, the first Chinese player to win on OneAsia, were among the first big names to sign up early for the event.
“It’s fantastic to see so many established Australasian champions set to start at Luxehills,” said Ben Sellenger, Chief Executive of OneAsia. “The success of OneAsia lies in its ability to bring together the entire region's champions and having the best of Australasia onboard widens the representative scope of the region, making for a better and stronger field.”
In 2010, OneAsia will stage 11 tournaments in 2010 for a total of US$13 million in prize money, ultimately seeking to provide players in Asia with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
The 2010 OneAsia tournament schedule is as below:
|
Date |
Tournament |
Venue |
Prize Money |
|
Apr 01 - 04 |
Luxehills Chengdu Open |
Luxehills International CC, Chengdu, China |
US$1,000,000 |
|
Apr 15 – 18 |
Volvo China Open |
Jinji Lake International Golf Club, Suzhou, China |
US$2,500,000 |
|
May 06 – 09 |
GS Caltex Maekyung Open |
Namseoul CC, Seoul, South Korea |
KRW1,000,000,000 |
|
Jun 17 – 20 |
Seoul Open |
Seoul, South Korea |
KRW1,000,000,000 |
|
Jul |
New Event TBA |
TBA |
US$1,000,000 |
|
Sep 30 – Oct 3 |
Thailand Open |
Bangkok, Thailand |
US$1,000,000 |
|
Oct 07 – 10 |
Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open |
Woo Jeoung Hills CC, Seoul, South Korea |
KRW1,000,000,000 |
|
Oct 14 – 17 |
Midea China Classic |
Royal Orchid International GC, Shunde, China |
US$1,000,000 |
|
Oct 21 – 24 |
Shandong Gold Cup Championship |
Shandong, China |
US$1,000,000 |
|
Dec 02 - 05 |
Australian Open |
The Lakes, Sydney, Australia |
US$1,300,000 |
|
Dec 09 - 12 |
Australian PGA Championship |
Hyatt Regency, Coolum, Australia |
US$1,300,000 |
About OneAsia
OneAsia is a non-profit organisation developed to maximize elite tournament opportunities in Asia-Pacific. The Founding members of OneAsia are the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia. The mission of OneAsia is not just to allow the region's best players to gain access to more events, but to ultimately provide them with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour, thus retaining the best golfing talent in the region without compromising their development.