Presidents Cup forms organizing panel

The PGA Tour on Friday launched an organizing committee for the 2015 Presidents Cup golf tournament in Songdo, Incheon, on Oct. 6-11.

Roy Ryu, chairman of Poongsan Group, will head the committee, which has 13 other members, including Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok and PGA Tour deputy commissioner Jay Monahan.

It will be the first time the 18-hole biennial golf tournament has been held in an Asian city. 

The Presidents Cup invites a team of 12 players from the U.S. to compete with a team of golfers from the rest of the word in a charity match. The tournament has mostly been held in the U.S.

Organizing committee officials said it would ensure the 11th Presidents Cup was successful and improved Korea’s image.

“We will seek to make the match the best and most memorable in the history of the Presidents Cup,” said Ryu in a news conference in Seoul on Friday.

“This will be an important event not only for the golf industry but also for the country.”

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok said that the city government had already put in place its administrative system exclusively for the Presidents Cup.

“We hope that the game will help advance the economy, and the sports and culture industries,” Yoo said.

The tour did not give details on whether golf star Tiger Woods would participate as part of the U.S. team in Korea. Woods has played eight times in the tournament.

Tour deputy commissioner Monahan said the event would draw attention as a number of well-known professional players would be competing in the game.

K.J. Choi, a Korean golfer, will be playing as the vice captain of the international team in the tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Songdo. Nick Price of Zimbabwe will head the team.

Korean President Park Geun-hye is an honorary chair of the cup, the event’s second female leader after former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The Presidents Cup, with the support of 450 charity organizations in 15 countries, will be broadcast in 30 languages for some 1 billion households in 225 countries.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)