The Ballantine's Championship (known as The Championship at Laguna National in its final year) was a European Tour golf tournament which was played from 2008 to 2014. It was the first European Tour event to be staged in South Korea.
From 2008 to 2010, the tournament was played at Pinx Golf Club on the island of Jeju. From 2011 to 2013, the tournament was played at Blackstone Golf Club. In 2014, the event has moved to Laguna National Golf & CC in Singapore and titled as The Championship at Laguna National.
The tournament was announced in July 2007 by the European Tour in partnership with the Korean PGA, marking a continuation of the European Tour's expansion into Asia. The Asian Tour, which had not been offered the co-sanctioning rights to which it felt it was entitled, responded by calling the event an "invasive" action that "colonised" Asia in "blatant disregard" of the "principles of the International Federation of PGA Tours", but six months later it agreed terms to co-sanction the event. The prize fund in the first year was €2 million (circa US$2.9 million).
Winners YearToursWinnerScoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-upThe Championship at Laguna National 2014 ASA, EUR Felipe Aguilar 266 −22 1 stroke Anders Hansen David LipskyBallantine's Championship 2013 ASA, EUR, KOR Brett Rumford 277 −11 Playoff Marcus Fraser Peter Whiteford 2012 ASA, EUR, KOR Bernd Wiesberger 270 −18 5 strokes Richie Ramsay 2011 ASA, EUR, KOR Lee Westwood 276 −12 1 stroke Miguel Ángel Jiménez 2010 ASA, EUR, KOR Marcus Fraser 204 −12 4 strokes Gareth Maybin Brett Rumford 2009 ASA, EUR, KOR Thongchai Jaidee 284 −4 Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Kang Sung-hoon 2008 ASA, EUR, KOR Graeme McDowell 264 −24 Playoff Jeev Milkha Singh
See also Korea Open (golf) World Classic Championship
Notes
References
External links Coverage on European Tour's official site Coverage on Asian Tour's official site