This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 14, 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: The MercedesTrophy, Mercedes-Benz’s prestigious international amateur golf tournament, is back in Malaysia. Now in its 28th year, the event is expected to attract up to 1,000 participants.
The MercedesTrophy 2018, featuring nine qualifying rounds, tees off at Sutera Harbour Golf Club, Sabah on March 15 before ending at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club in Selangor on April 25.
According to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia president and chief executive officer Dr Claus Weidner, the tournament enters its 29th year worldwide. “Over the years, more than a million customers and fans of the brand have teed off at the MercedesTrophy,” he told a press conference yesterday.
“Just like our products, golf is a game of perfection. Every stroke has to be perfect each time. This strong connection between the game and our brand has led to Mercedes-Benz’s active involvement in this sport since 1989. Today, the MercedesTrophy has evolved into an extremely successful tournament series for amateurs, staged over 60 countries,” he said.
“Our strategy is to maintain a relationship with our customers by providing the best experience not only in sales and services, but also through this kind of programmes (MercedesTrophy).”
The marketing partners for MercedesTrophy 2018 include golf apparel producer Crest Link, golf equipment maker TaylorMade, Swiss producer of mechanical watches EPOS, German-Malaysian tailoring specialist Kinslager, The Edge Communications, The Saujana Hotel & Resort and Carlsberg.
More than 60,000 golfers in over 60 countries tee off in local, regional and national invitational tournaments annually, hoping to qualify for the MercedesTrophy World Final held in Stuttgart, Germany.
“I am very confident that Malaysian players stand a good chance to be there (at the MercedesTrophy World Final) because we (Malaysia) have very good players,” Weidner said.
“From what I have seen at last year’s MercedesTrophy Regional Final Asia, there are always or at least some participants from Malaysia who qualify to the final round.”
The MercedesTrophy 2018, with four categories, is open to men (Category A — Handicap 0-12; Category B — Handicap 13-20; and Category C — Handicap 21-24) and women (Category D — Handicap 0-36).
The top three winners from each category of each qualifying round will compete in the MercedesTrophy National Final Malaysia on May 8 at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club.
The top two winners in each handicap category for men and the women’s category winner at the national final will qualify for the MercedesTrophy Regional Final Asia, with an all-expenses-paid trip to Sanctuary Cove, Australia from Aug 5 to Aug 8.
Each handicap category winner at the regional final will proceed to the world final in Stuttgart, Germany from Oct 2 to Oct 7, where they get to meet Mercedes-Benz’s global brand ambassador and American professional golfer Rickie Fowler.
The first player to achieve a hole-in-one on any of the two designated par-three holes at each venue will also win a new Mercedes-Benz E 200 Avantgarde vehicle. Weidner said exclusive Mercedes-Benz merchandise and other novelty prizes are up for grabs as well.