Gordon Bell emerged victorious in the Asian Tigers Masters.

Gordon Bell emerged victorious in his company’s own golf tournament, the Asian Tigers Masters, held in March.  The new champion played two consecutive rounds of solid golf, tee to green, to win the tournament by a single stroke over second place finisher, Rob Chipman.  Two strokes further back was Ray Beard, a relative newcomer to tournament golf but a player who shows good promise and fine potential.

This year’s tournament attracted a record field of 53 players, representing 19 countries, from five continents.  Tournament co-organiser Derek Cheyne commented: “We were very pleased to see such a strong level of interest, even in this challenging economic climate.  We feel the tournament provides the right balance of fun, along with the opportunity to discuss business and industry trends in an unhurried environment.”

The first day event was the traditional Texas Scramble.  The team of Peter Karlsson, Jeff Wangler and newcomer Dan Tattersfield amassed a respectable 64 Stableford points to pip the second place group of Allen Fan, Rudy Planavsky, Bill Brill and Rupert Morley who carded 63 points.

The second day was a Pink Lady Four Ball, Best Ball played over the challenging Blue Canyon Lakes Course.  Emerging victorious was the group captained by Eric Lim, and rounded out by Mike Keller, Charley Destival and Jim Petersen with a score of 82.  This put them a full 10 shots clear of the second place group of Chris Meyer, Allen Fan, Steve Gerard, and Andrew Wilson.

After the two opening rounds, things turned more serious and that’s when Gordon Bell, chairman of the Asian Tiger Group and current president of OMNI turned up the heat.  Shooting a solid 34 points the first day, Gordon  carded a tournament-best round of 40 points on the closing round, which was played on the spectacular Red Mountain layout.

“I was surprised that I won, but very happy at the same time.  There are a number of other good players in the field, including five of the six past champions, so it was not easy going – not at all.  Most of all, I enjoyed myself and I think our guests did as well. That’s the most important thing that we set out to do, and I think I can declare this year’s event a great success.”

The first Asian Tigers Masters was held in 2002. Since that time is has evolved into a biannual event that attracts industry leaders from all over the world to the island paradise of Phuket, Thailand.  While there, players can discuss the latest industry trends, network, and reinforce personal relationships which are key elements to success in our industry. For more information on the tournament, including photos of this, and past years’ events, visit the website www.at-masters.com.

Gordon Bell played two solid rounds to win by a single stroke