Johnnie Walker Classic

The Johnnie Walker Classic was a European Tour golf tournament which was played in the Asia-Pacific region. Johnnie Walker is a brand name and the owners have a long history of tournament sponsorship. They also sponsored the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles which was a European Tour event played in Scotland. The event was originally called the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic. There was a tournament already called the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia, but when that event ceased in 1992, the word Asian was dropped from the name.

This article is about the European Tour golf tournament held in Asia and Australia from 1990 to 2009. For the golf tournament held in Australia from 1988 to 1992, see Johnnie Walker Australian Classic.
Johnnie Walker Classic
Tournament information
LocationVarious
Established1990
Tour(s)European Tour (from 1992)
PGA Tour of Australasia (from 1996)
Asian Tour (from 1999)
FormatStroke play
Prize fund£1,250,000
Month playedFebruary
Final year2009
Tournament record score
Aggregate259 Ernie Els (2003)
To par−29 as above
Final champion
Danny Lee

In 1989 Johnnie Walker sponsored the Hong Kong Open, and it was decided to establish an additional tournament which it would sponsor on an ongoing basis. This tournament was called the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic, and was first staged in Hong Kong in 1990. Subsequently, it became a touring event, essentially used by its sponsor as a marketing exercise in the Asia Pacific region. In 1992 it became the first event to be sanctioned by the European Tour in East Asia (the Dubai Desert Classic was the first in Asia as a whole). In 1993 the word Asian was dropped from the title. In 2005 the tournament was held in China for the first time, as part of the European Tour's push into China, which saw four events held in mainland China and one in Hong Kong in the 2005 season. The location of the tournament changes every year.

The tournament was co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia from 1996,[1] and by the Asian Tour from 1999.[2] In 2005 the tri-sanctioned event had a field consisting of 60 European Tour players, 60 Asian Tour players, 28 PGA Tour of Australasia players, and 8 sponsors' invitees. The prize fund was £1,250,000. This amount is large by Asian and Australasian Tour standards, but not by European Tour or PGA Tour standards. However the tournament attracts a number of the World's leading players each year by paying them large appearance fees. Nine of the first fourteen editions were won by players who have topped the Official World Golf Ranking at some point in their career (Faldo, Els and Woods twice each; Woosnam, Norman and Couples once each).

Winners
YearTour(s)[lower-alpha 1]WinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upVenue
Johnnie Walker Classic
2009ANZ, ASA, EUR Danny Lee (a)271−171 stroke Felipe Aguilar
Hiroyuki Fujita
Ross McGowan		The Vines, Australia
2008ANZ, ASA, EUR Mark Brown270−183 strokes Greg Chalmers
Taichiro Kiyota
Scott Strange		DLF, India
2007ANZ, ASA, EUR Anton Haig275−13Playoff[lower-alpha 2] Richard Sterne
Oliver Wilson		Blue Canyon, Thailand
2006ANZ, ASA, EUR Kevin Stadler268−202 strokes Nick O'HernThe Vines, Australia
2005ANZ, ASA, EUR Adam Scott270−183 strokes Retief GoosenPine Valley, China
2004ANZ, ASA, EUR Miguel Ángel Jiménez271−172 strokes Thomas Bjørn
Jyoti Randhawa		Alpine Golf, Thailand
2003ANZ, ASA, EUR Ernie Els (2)259−2910 strokes Stephen Leaney
Andre Stolz		Lake Karrinyup, Australia
2002ANZ, ASA, EUR Retief Goosen274−148 strokes Pierre FulkeLake Karrinyup, Australia
2001No tournament due to rescheduling from November to January
2000ANZ, ASA, EUR Tiger Woods (2)263−253 strokes Geoff OgilvyAlpine Golf, Thailand
1999ANZ, ASA, EUR Michael Campbell276−121 stroke Geoff OgilvyWestin Resort, Taiwan
1998ANZ, EUR Tiger Woods279−9Playoff[lower-alpha 3] Ernie ElsBlue Canyon, Thailand
1997ANZ, EUR Ernie Els278−101 stroke Peter Lonard
Michael Long		Hope Island, Australia
1996ANZ, EUR Ian Woosnam272−16Playoff[lower-alpha 4] Andrew ColtartTanah Merah, Singapore
1995EUR Fred Couples277−112 strokes Nick PriceThe Orchard, Philippines
1994EUR Greg Norman277−111 stroke Fred CouplesBlue Canyon, Thailand
1993EUR Nick Faldo269−111 stroke Colin MontgomerieSingapore Island, Singapore
Johnnie Walker Asian Classic
1992EUR Ian Palmer268−201 stroke Bernhard Langer
Brett Ogle
Ronan Rafferty		Pinehurst, Thailand
1991No tournament
1990 Nick Faldo270−144 strokes Ian WoosnamRoyal Hong Kong, Hong Kong
  1. ANZ – PGA Tour of Australasia; ASA – Asian Tour; EUR – European Tour.
  2. Haig won with birdie on first extra hole
  3. Woods won with birdie on second extra hole
  4. Woosnam won with birdie on third extra hole

References
  1. Stone, Peter (10 May 1995). "Move to a global tour revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. p. 73 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Happell, Charles (10 November 1999). "Australians get a chance to topple Tiger". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. p. 59 – via Newspapers.com.
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