Songdo brings in veteran stars

Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer and Tom Kite in strong field


Eight-time major champion Tom Watson, putting master Bernhard Langer and former U.S. Open champion Tom Kite and other veteran golfers are here to compete in this week’s Songdo Championships.

The tournament presented by Korean Air and Gale International runs from Friday to Sunday at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo International Business District, Incheon.

The IBD Championships is part of the PGA Champions Tour designed for golfers aged 50 and up. The tournament offers a total of $3 million prize money with $456,000 to the winner, the largest purse among the Champions Tour events. 

Golf legend Jack Nicklaus designed the course for the first official Champions Tour event in Asia.

At the inaugural tournament in 2010, American veteran Russ Cochran became the first champion by defeating Fred Funk in the playoff round.

This year, many of the PGA Tour’s most successful golfers, including hall of famers Watson, Langer and also defending champion Cochran, will vie for the title.

Choi Sang-ho, who has bagged 43 titles here, and former KLPGA champion Choi Gwang-soo along with other local golfers, will also try to make an impact at the local ompetition.

The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years the only high-profile tournament for senior golfers.

The Champions Tour is currently played in the U.S. and three other countries, including Canada, the U.K. and South Korea.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)