Bangkok--20 Oct--Royal Cliff Hotels Group
Inimitable American tennis great Jimmy Connors will add a new dimension to this year’s Asia Pacific Golf Summit in Thailand.
On and off the tennis court, with Connors you can always be certain that he’ll serve up a memorable treat.
And so it promises to be in the Thai coastal resort town of Pattaya when the eight-time Grand Slam champion holds court at the fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit, the region’s premier annual industry gathering, from October 31 to November 2.
A serious golfer who maintains a single-figure handicap, the American, who turned 59 in September, said: “I am delighted to be invited to attend and speak at the 2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit. It is an excellent opportunity for me to meet first hand a cross-section of the people who are driving the game of golf in a really exciting part of the world.”
Known as a maverick during his playing days, Connors held the world number one position for a total of 268 weeks and played top-level tennis until the age of 39. In a recent report published in the Washington Post, quoting a new study on tennis greats, he was ranked as the ‘greatest tennis player of all time’.
Among his more than 100 singles titles, Connors tasted success in various Asian cities, including Hong Kong (1979), Guangzhou (1980) and Tokyo (1980 and 1984). To this day he retains a large fan base across the region and he’s sure to be a major crowd-puller at the Summit.
Under the theme The Challenge of Change, the 2011 Summit will address what golf is really like in Asia today.
And given his extensive sporting experiences around the globe, the participation of Connors in the debate will be enlightening.
Mike Sebastian, Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Pacific Golf Group, owner and producer of the Summit, said: “We are really pleased to be able to bring out a sports superstar of the global stature of Jimmy Connors. We know that he will make a hefty contribution towards the success of the 2011 Asia Pacific Golf Summit.
“Together with a stellar line-up of international speakers, we have assembled a team of experts who are all eminently qualified to tackle the issues related to The Challenge of Change.”
The entire week will be dedicated to analysing the challenges faced by the golf industry in Asia with a view to drawing up a road-map to seek out lasting solutions brought about by the constant of change.
Chumpol Silapa-Archa, Minister of Tourism and Sports, will make a special address on the opening day of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit, while The Honourable Itthipol Kunplome, Mayor of Pattaya City, and Pornsit Sriratthaikul, President of the Thai Golf Course Association, are the event’s Patrons.
The week-long activities are being sponsored and supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).
THAILAND ‘GOLF HUB OF ASIA’ EVENT DATES 2011
- Asia Pacific Golf Summit |October 31-November 2|
- Golf Course Superintendents of Asia Summit |October 31-November 2|
- ASEAN Golf Tourism Forum |November 3|
- PGA Conference of Asia |November 3-4|
- All-Asia Inter-City Club Challenge |November 3-5|
- Southeast Asia and India Golf Merchandise Exposition (SEAIGME) |November 4-6|
For further information, please contact Spencer Robinson at
[email protected]
*Note: The Asia Pacific Golf Summit was inaugurated in Singapore in 2007. In 2008 it was staged in the southern China Province of Guangdong at Mission Hills Shenzhen before moving to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in 2009 and onto Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, in 2010. This year it is being held in Pattaya at the sprawling, world-class Pattaya Exhibition and Convention Centre (PEACH). The host hotel for the events is the plush five-star Royal Cliff Hotels Group. For further details, please visit www.golfconference.org and www.asiapacificgolfgroup.com