Johnnie Walker Classic

The Johnnie Walker Classic is a PGA European Tour golf tournament which is played in the Asia Pacific region. The Johnnie Walker brand has a long history of sponsoring golf tournaments, and currently also sponsors the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles which is a European Tour event which is played in Scotland. In 1989 Johnnie Walker sponsored the Hong Kong Open, and it was decided to establish an additional tournament which it would sponsor on an ongoing basis. This tournament was called the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic, and was first staged in Hong Kong in 1990. Subsequently it became a touring event, essentially used by its sponsor as a marketing exercise in the Asia Pacific region. In 1992 it became the first event to be sanctioned by the European Tour in East Asia (the Dubai Desert Classic was the first in Asia as a whole). In 1993 the word Asian was dropped from the title. In 2005 the tournament was held in China for the first time, as part of the European Tour's push into China, which saw four events held in mainland China and one in Hong Kong in the 2005 season.

Related Topics:
PGA European Tour - Golf - Asia Pacific - Johnnie Walker - Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles - Scotland - Hong Kong Open - Hong Kong - Dubai Desert Classic - China

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In 2005 the event was tri-sanctioned by the Asian, European and Australasian tours and the field comprised 60 European Tour players, 60 Asian Tour players, 28 PGA Tour of Australasia players, and 8 sponsors invitees. The prize fund was £1,250,000. This amount is large by Asian and Australasian Tour standards, but not by European Tour or PGA Tour standards. However the tournament attracts a number of the World's leading players each year by paying them large appearance fees. Nine of the first fourteen editions were won by players who have topped the Official World Golf Rankings at some point in their career (Faldo, Els and Woods twice each; Woosnam, Norman and Couples once each).

Related Topics:
Asian Tour - PGA Tour of Australasia - £ - PGA Tour - Official World Golf Rankings

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The years in the table are European Tour seasons rather than calendar years. The season starts late in the previous calendar year, and the Johnnie Walker Classic has sometimes been held at this time of year, for example the "2000" event was held in November 1999. The 2005 tournament was held in April 2005.

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SeasonLocationWinnerNationality

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2005ChinaAdam ScottAustralia

Related Topics:
China - Adam Scott - Australia

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2004ThailandMiguel Angel JiménezSpain

Related Topics:
Thailand - Miguel Angel Jiménez - Spain

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2003AustraliaErnie ElsSouth Africa

Related Topics:
Australia - Ernie Els - South Africa

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2002AustraliaRetief GoosenSouth Africa

Related Topics:
Australia - Retief Goosen - South Africa

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2001ThailandTiger WoodsUnited States

Related Topics:
Thailand - Tiger Woods - United States

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2000TaiwanMichael CampbellNew Zealand

Related Topics:
Taiwan - Michael Campbell - New Zealand

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1999Pushed back to following season.

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1998ThailandTiger WoodsUnited States

Related Topics:
Thailand - Tiger Woods - United States

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1997AustraliaErnie ElsSouth Africa

Related Topics:
Australia - Ernie Els - South Africa

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1996SingaporeIan WoosnamWales

Related Topics:
Singapore - Ian Woosnam - Wales

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1995PhilippinesFred CouplesUnited States

Related Topics:
Philippines - Fred Couples - United States

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1994ThailandGreg NormanAustralia

Related Topics:
Thailand - Greg Norman - Australia

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1993SingaporeNick FaldoEngland

Related Topics:
Singapore - Nick Faldo - England

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1992ThailandIan PalmerSouth Africa

Related Topics:
Thailand - Ian Palmer - South Africa

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1991No tournament.

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1990Hong KongNick FaldoEngland

Related Topics:
Hong Kong - Nick Faldo - England

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