Barclays dumps yet another golf event on the European Tour, The Barclays Singapore Open
In another surprise move, The Barclays have now decided to pull out of yet another golf event, The Barclays Singapore Open and has announced that it will not be renewing its partnership with the event anymore.
Barclays, which pulled out of the Scottish Open a few years back, has been facing serious economic turmoil and is no longer in a position to extend sponsorships to mega events all over the world.
Often considered as the Asian Tour’s major event in Asia, The Barclays Singapore Open is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and features some of the top-ranked players from all over the world.
The officials at the Asian Tour were surprised to hear the news but vowed that the event will carry on with its usual aplomb and the pullout will not affect the publicity of the event.
Mr Kyi Hla Han, executive chairman of Asian Tour expressed his surprise of the sudden pullout from Barclays which has been sponsoring the event since 2006.
He said, "I didn't expect this to happen, but the event has built a name for itself and it's got a global following now. It is one of our biggest events on the Asian Tour”.
Meanwhile, Singapore Golf Association (SGA) president Bob Tan confirmed the departure of the British corporate giant which has been pouring in the 3 million-pound-a-year (S$6 million) sponsorship of the event.
He said, "It is going to be tough getting the same amount of sponsorship for next year, but I am confident we can find a company who wants to ride on the success of the Singapore Open".
One of the professional players from the city, Lam Chih Bing expressed his grief that the mega bank has decided to part ways with the event but insisted that the event will find a new sponsor before it is organised in November this year.
Said Mr Lam: "I've not heard any negative comments from the pros who have played in it. I am confident, they will play for even less money because they like coming here”.
Officials at Barclays have remained tight-lipped over the pullout and have refused to say anything n this regard.
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