Handa Aussie Senior Open in November to include 30 Europeans

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR
The future of Australia’s premier senior golf tournament, the Handa Australian Senior Open, continues to gain strength with the announcement that the event is to be co-sanctioned with the European Senior Tour.
The three-year co-sanctioning of the Handa Australian Senior Open will see a $100,000 increase in the prize money to AUD$400,000 and the inclusion of the leading 30 players from the European Senior Tour. It will be the opening tournament on the 2011 European Senior Tour schedule and will be followed by the Handa Cup Senior Masters in Japan the week after.
Royal Perth Golf Club will host the Handa Australian Senior Open from November 19 to 21 this year when champions of the calibre of Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance will compete for the prestigious title. The tournament will also be a significant occasion for Australian golf icon Ian Baker-Finch, who will make his debut on home soil as a Senior golfer at the event. He will be joined in the field by defending champion Mike Harwood and fellow countrymen Peter Senior, Wayne Grady and David Merriman.
Dr Haruhisa Handa, Chairman of the International Sports Promotion Society and long-term golf supporter, said he was pleased the European Senior Tour have agreed to co-sanction the event and pledged his continued support to the tournament he resurrected back in 2007.
“I am so proud of the growth of the Handa Australian Senior Open over the past three years and to now have the event feature in conjunction with the European Senior Tour is a big step forward for Senior Golf in Australia,” said Dr Handa.
ISPS is a leading sponsor of European Senior Tour events with the inclusion of the Handa Australian Senior Open taking their involvement to five tournaments in five different countries. ISPS have helped take the Senior Tour to new corners of the globe and have also helped bring a charitable angle to all events through their promotion of blind golf at each event.