Appearance will be legendary trophy’s debut in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, 4 March 2019 – The European Tour has confirmed that the Ryder Cup trophy will be in the Malaysian capital for a week when Europe’s winning captain from the 2018 tournament, Thomas Bjørn, and Padraig Harrington, recently appointed as European captain for the 2020 tournament in the United States, are in town for the Maybank Championship.
Bjørn and Harrington will be reunited with the trophy ahead of, and during the Maybank Championship, a regular stop on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, which will be hosted at Saujana Golf & Country Club from 21-24 March this year.
Visitors to the Maybank Championship can get a glimpse of the trophy which will be on public display exclusively at The Village in the Saujana Golf & Country Club, from 8:30am to 10:00am on 24 March 2019 (Sunday).
This will be the 21st season that the European Tour has come to Kuala Lumpur, the Tour’s first tournament venue outside Europe.
Europe regained the Ryder Cup last September at Le Golf National in Paris, as Bjørn’s team defeated Jim Furyk’s Team United States by 17½ points to 10. Now Harrington will aim to retain the silverware when the 43rd edition of the biennial event is held at Whistling Straits Golf Course, Wisconsin, USA from 25-27 September 2020.
Bjørn turned pro in 1993 and has no fewer than 15 European Tour titles to his credit. The 47-year-old is the most high-profile golfer from Denmark and the first from his country to qualify for the European Ryder Cup team as a player.
Bjørn, who also led Team Europe to victory over Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup in January 2018 at Glenmarie Golf & Country Club in Shah Alam, has been on three European Ryder Cup teams as a player – in 1997, 2002, and 2014 – and a winner on each occasion.
Three-time Major champion, Harrington, has been on six European Ryder Cup teams and four as a winner - 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2010. The 47-year-old has also served as vice-captain three times.
Bjørn and Harrington’s participation in the Maybank Championship will be highlighted alongside four-time Major winner, Ernie Els of South Africa. Also in the field at Saujana will be defending champion Shubhankar Sharma, Maybank’s ASEAN Ambassador Gavin Green, and 60 players each drawn from both the European and Asian Tour. The ASEAN category will again be featured in the field, together with 15 from the world’s top-150 and 13 Malaysians.
The Maybank Championship, Malaysia’s premier golf tournament, carries a prize worth US$3 million and will be held for the fourth time in March 2019.
For further details on upcoming events and other information related to the Maybank Championship, please log on to: www.maybankchampionship.com.my