Chihiro Ikeda Wins Inaugural Lydia Ivana Memorial Tourney's Skins Game

Jakarta, 15 September 2013 — Chihiro Ikeda lived up to the hype after she won 13 holes and was crowned queen of the Skins Game in the inaugural Lydia Ivana Memorial Golf Tournament at the Senayan National Golf Club.

Ikeda, Vietnamese Tang Thi-nung, Thai Nontaya Srisawang and local star Ines Putri, participated in the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) in the Skins Game (similar to match play) to honor Indonesia’s only woman professional Lydia Ivana Jaya, who died of pneumonia last July 17.

Left-to-right: Ines Putri, Tang Thi-nung, Chihiro Ikeda and Nontaya Srisawang pose before teeing off.

The Filipino-Japanese Ikeda was in fiery form all day at the short but challenging par-69 course, taking more than half of the holes, which carried a certain amount. She capped it by winning the final hole, worth 12 million rupiah.

The tournament, witnessed by Lydia Ivana’s parents, amassed a total of 150 million rupiah, including 10 million from the memorabilia auction, and will be turned over to the four foundations that Lydia Ivana supported.

Ikeda, who plays in the Philippine and Japan Golf Tours, represented the Lydia Ivana Golf Academy, with Tang for the Ebenhenzer Foundation, Nontaya for the Elang Muda Indonesia and Ines for the Sahabat Anak Foundation.

“LAGT is no longer the same without Lydia. She was very helpful and sometimes did the little things like buying me food or drink. She was that sweet,” said Ikeda, who was joined by national coach Bong Lopez.

Organizers of this tournament and the other golf clubs in Indonesia are already thinking of making this an annual event under the LAGT banner.

Lidya Ivana Memorial To Be Held 15 September On Senayan National Golf Club

‘The Reborn’ Senayan National Golf Club will be hosting the historical inaugural ‘LIDYA IVANA MEMORIAL’, a golf event to pay tribute to Lidya Ivana Jaya, the only current Indonesian female professional golfer who passed away recently. The event will be held on September 15th 2013.

Lidya Ivana Jaya was the only current Indonesian female golfer who played in professional golf tour in the world.

This tournament is held not only to commemorate and honor the figure of Lidya Ivana Jaya, but more so to revive her spirit and dream to bring Indonesia’s golf to the highest level. This spirit is expected to continue to live on in every Indonesian golf athlete to be able to achieve their goals.

In this inaugural tournament, we will be raising funds to be distributed to foundations, orphanages and also the golf academy that has been continuously supported by the late Lidya Ivana Jaya.

“Although we felt in deep sorrow that we learned we have lost one of our dear members, LAGT is proud to be involved in this memorial event and will do its best to assist. Many players expressed their wish to attend the event to remember Lidya, and we were able to select some of her best friends to do so”, said Mr. Koichi Kato, President of Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT).

Indonesia Golf Association (PGI) and Indonesia PGA (IPGA) share a deep loss of Lidya Ivana Jaya and they both support and look forward to this new tournament. Both PGI and IPGA hopes that this tournament will trigger all junior golfers, especially girls, to put their commitment to golf so that looking for Lidya Ivana Jaya's successor will not be a difficult task.

Nike Golf through PT Mitra Adiperkasa Tbk. (MAP Active) was involved from the very beginning and strongly supports this upcoming event as Lidya Ivana Jaya was the brand ambassador of Nike Golf since December 2010. “Late Lidya was a good friend and part of our MAP golf team family. She’s a wonderful person and has a great personality. She will always be in our heart and thoughts”, said Pilar Medina, Sr. Golf Marketing Manager, MAP Active.

At this inaugural event the tournament will be in the format of 'Skins Game', where the professional players will represent different charitable foundations to raise funds. In addition to the 'Skins Game' a tournament for amateur players will also be held as well as a pro-am will be held a day before the main event for the 'major sponsor'.

Fully supported by Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT), Indonesia Golf Association (PGI) & Indonesia PGA, this event offers fantastic entertainment for golf enthusiast in Indonesia. This inaugural event scheduled in September 2013 will involve Professionals from LAGT member countries. This will create one of the prime and credible tournaments in Indonesia and is destined to capture the imagination of the region’s golf fans.

As the first of its kind in LAGT, this tournament will definitely give more values to the tour.

Indonesia Ladies Pro Golfer Lidya Ivana Jaya Passes Away

This week the Indonesian golf community was shocked by the sad news of the passing away of Lidya Ivana Jaya. She was an outstanding golfer, underlined with her getting a tour card for the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour in 2009.

Besides her career as a ladies pro golfer she was also passionate about teaching golf to juniors, most notably at the Lydia Golf Academy in Surabaya she founded with her father.

We wish her family and friends strength to cope with this loss, and hope that her legacy will live on in all the juniors she has coached over the years.

Red Hot Keating In Top Position In Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open

Jakarta, October 12 -

Australian golfer Stacey Keating, the player who receives the most attention in the Ladies European Tour, will compete next week at the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open tournament.

Last week the 26-year-old managed to score consecutive victories in Europe, making herself one of the favorites for the title to appear in this leading women's golf tournament that will take place at the Palm Hill Golf Club.

The tournament with a total prize of US$200,000 is the ninth leg of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) circuit, and will feature the best golfers in Asia, as well as some of the leading players from Europe.

Keating became one of the players to watch, as she has just won the French Open title with a one stroke margin, just a few days after she won the Open de España Femenino Tenerife.

Her victory in Spain after a sudden-death play-off is her first success in Europe. The win was a breakthrough for her as a professional golfer, following an impressively successful amateur career.

In 2010, Keating was ranked top female golfer in Australia, had won the Australian Amateur Championship, as well as the Tasmanian, Victorian and West Australian Stroke Play Championships. Keating also represented Australia at the World Amateur Championship.

In the same year Keating was one of two players who received a Karrie Webb Scholarship, the most prestigious scholarship, which gave her the opportunity to get private training mentoring from former world number one Webb.

Currently she is ranked fourth on Europe's money list with earnings of €147,045 or US$ 189,317, and no doubt she will be able to continue her brilliance in Asia.

Nontaya Srisawang and Tiranan Yoopan of Thailand, who were both winners on LAGT this season, and Rebecca Hudson from England, who has won three title on the Ladies European Tour, have also been confirmed to compete in this tournament.

Nontaya won the Thailand Ladies Open in February, while Tiranan won the Technology Cup in Taiwan last August.

Also competing are Lydia Ivana Jaya, an Indonesian golfer together with the beautiful Ines, Miss Indonesia 2012, who is also an amateur golfer and is currently Indonesia's top amateur player and one of the members of the national team.

Another welcome addition is Sahra Hassan, a young golfer from Wales who in May was named sportwoman of the year by the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation at Wembley Stadium.

Also participants include Titiya and Piyathida of Thailand, Lee Eun-young of Korea, Connie Chen from South Africa, Alison Whitaker of Australia, Kirsty Fisher of England and Cassandra Kirkland of France.

A total of 84 players will compete in three rounds with no elimination. "We are very pleased to welcome the return of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour in Indonesia for the first time since 2010, and most importantly, we came back with good quality. We promise a competitive tournament with the presence of golfers from Asia and Europe," said Koichi Kato, President and Commissioner of the Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

The Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT) launched in 2005 was formerly known as the Kasaido Ladies Asian Golf Circuit in 2003.

Enjoy Jakarta has sponsored the Indonesia Open golf tournament for men since 2005, and sponsoring the Ladies Indonesia Open golf tournament is an addition to their sponsorship program.

The Ladies Indonesia Open was first held in 1987 when Fusako Nagata of Japan won the trophy. Other famous winners include Lisa Hacney from England in 1995 and Corinne Dibnah from Australia in 1996.

The tournament can be watched on television with coverage on ESPN Star Sports in Asia Pacific and the One World Sports in the United States where they will air one hour highlights three times running.

Enjoy Jakarta Re-launch Ladies Indonesia Open

Jakarta, September 26 -

Enjoy Jakarta will embark on an exciting new sponsorship initiative this year by backing the Ladies Indonesia Open for the first time.

Boasting prize money of US$200,000, the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open will be played at Palm Hill Golf Club in Jakarta from October 18 to 20.

An all-star cast of many of the leading lady professional golfers from Asia and Europe will compete in the ninth tournament on the 2012 Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT).

Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang and Tiranan Yoopan, both winners of the LAGT this season, and England’s Rebecca Hudson, who has claimed three titles on the Ladies European Tour, have all confirmed they will compete.

Nontaya claimed the Ladies Thailand Open in February while Tiranan triumphed in last month’s Technology Cup in Taiwan.

Indonesia’s Lydia Ivana Jaya will lead the local challenge along with the glamorous Inez Putri - the reigning Miss Indonesia World 2012 who is also a promising golfer.

Other welcome additions to the field will be Sahra Hassan, the young golfer from Wales who in May was named UK sportswoman of the year by the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation at Wembley Stadium.

Australian Nikki Garrett, the 2006 Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European Tour who claimed back-to-back titles in 2007, is also a starter.

“The Jakarta Capital City Government believes sponsoring an international sporting tournament of this caliber will draw significant attention to Indonesia as a whole and Jakarta in particular. It is a tremendous honour for us as we hope to showcase our nation’s rich mosaic of diverse languages, cultures and customs,” said His Excellency Dr. Ing H. Fauzi Bowo, Governor of Jakarta.

Enjoy Jakarta have sponsored the men’s Indonesia Open since 2005 and therefore their sponsorship of the ladies national Open is an extension of their sponsorship program.

“The Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open will be a wonderful sporting occasion and we are particularly excited to be associating ourselves with ladies professional golf which has a huge following,” added Dr. Fauzi.

The tournament will benefit hugely from regional television coverage on ESPN Star Sports as three one-hour highlight shows will be produced.

A field of 83 players will compete over three rounds with no cut being made.

The Ladies Indonesia Open was first played in 1987 when Japan’s Fusako Nagata lifted the trophy. Well known winners of the event include Lisa Hackney from England in 1995 and Australian Corinne Dibnah in 1996.

The Indonesian Golf Association (PGI) are the guardians of Ladies Indonesia Open and are looking forward to the first staging of the event since 2010.

“Ladies golf continues to capture the imagination of the golfing world and so we are thrilled that our national Open returns to the schedule in 2012. A strong field has entered and we also looking forward to seeing amateurs from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines compete,” said Arifin Panigoro, President – PGI.

The tournament is set to be one of the showpiece events on the LAGT.

“We are delighted to welcome Enjoy Jakarta, a new sponsor, to the Ladies Asian Golf Tour. Our circuit features 13 events this season and everyone is looking forward to heading to the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open,” said Koichi Kato, President & Commissioner, Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

The LAGT was launched in 2005, taking over where the previously known Kasaido Ladies Asian Golf Circuit left off in 2003.

“Indonesia deserves and needs international sporting events like the Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open and we at GolfLink Resorts take great pleasure in being able to facilitate this process,” said Suprapto Pegeng, Marketing Director, PT Intra GolfLink, the promoter of the event and owner of Palm Hill.

Located in the Sentul highlands and near the green city of Bogor, Palm Hill’s 18 holes course was designed by Tom Matteson and developed by Japan’s Taisei Corporation.

Like all the courses in the Bogor region, the course offers marvelous views particularly of the majestic Mount Salak.