The Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam, the first professional golf tournament in the North of Vietnam which took place from November 4-7 at Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club in Hai Duong province, has marked a milestone for the development of Vietnam's growing golf scene although some small problems still remained due to local residents' poor knowledge of the new game.

Filipino Angelo Que produced a stunning upset victory over Thai star Thongchai Jaidee to lift the trophy of the inaugural event on Sunday, November 7. 26-year-old Que, ranked a lowly 122nd on the Asian Tour Order of Merit entering the event, fired a final round two-under-par 70 to triumph by two strokes and win US$32,300.

The US$200,000 tournament, sponsored by Carlsberg, is considered one of the biggest sport events in Vietnam this year with the participation of more than 100 international golfers, including Former US Open winner Corey Pavin, Thongchai Jaidee from Thailand, Angelo Que from the Philippines and many others from around the world. The game was teed off by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, one of the seventy amateur Vietnamese players who also competed.

This was a good chance for local golfers to gain valuable experience from world-class and also a boost for Vietnamese golf in general because the amateurs benefited greatly by playing alongside some of Asia's finest players, according to members of the Organising Board. However, qualifications of Vietnamese golfers were far behind regional and international players when they played together at this beautiful but challenging golf course.

One of the notable points that emerged from the tournament is that though the Organising Board had prepared for the tournament both financially and technically, it failed to realise that most local residents, including the media, have not been equipped with basic knowledge of the new, emerging sport. Therefore, the noise of the audience around the boundaries, phones ringing, and the activities of reporters inside the course were the main reasons for distracting the international golfers' concentration, experts said. In order to solve the problem, the board, better late than never, decided to organise a two-hour training course to introduce primary golf rules to the media for the second competition day with the aim of avoiding a recurrence of such troubles.     

Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doan Van An confirmed at the tournament's opening that the Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam, taking place at the best golf course in Southeast Asia, would be organised annually and become one of the biggest golf tournaments in Asia. 

More information about Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam

The inaugural Carlsberg Masters 2004 Vietnam is the 19th leg on the Asian Tour. The US$200,000 tournament was title sponsored by Carlsberg, one of the largest brewery groups in the world as well as in Vietnam.

The tournament's main sponsors are Chi Linh Star Golf and Country Club, Thai Airways as the Official Carrier, Hilton Hanoi Opera as the Official Hotel, GM Daewoo as the Official Car, Canon as the Official Office Suppliers and Aquafina as the Official Drink. Event partners include I-Golf, Hospital Francais De Hanoi, LG Electronics, Pepsi, the European Plastic Windows, Vinausteel, Nippon Paint, Somerset Grand Hanoi, Vietnam Partners LLC and High Performance Technology Joint Stock.

•  The Nam