Jeju to host Korea’s first PGA TOUR event

JEJU, Korea – Officials today announced that THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, the first official PGA TOUR event in Korea, will be held at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, a course operated by CJ. Representatives from Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES held an agreement ceremony at the Samda Hall in Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. The ceremony was attended by the Governor of Jeju Special Self-governing Province, Won Hee-Ryong, CJ Group Chairman Kyung-shik Sohn and Senior Vice President, Asia Tournaments for the PGA TOUR, Jeff Monday as the group pledged to cooperate for the successful hosting of the event. In addition, Nine Bridges was named the host venue for the course and an official tournament logo was introduced to inform the start of the preparations for the event. “While hosting world-class golf events such as 2002 World Cup and 2003 LPGA Golf Tournament, Jeju has been in the spotlight all around the world even in difficult circumstances. It is essential to hold international events that can impact local economy and promote Jeju Island,” said Jeju Governor Won. “We have built a task force to develop public relations strategy and constant efforts will be made to focus on promoting Jeju Island to all around the world.” As a result of this agreement, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will form a dedicated project team and provide financial and administrative support. Jeju will provide police, firefighting and medical support and plans to promote Jeju Island to the world through the promotion and marketing of the area. “I am very pleased that THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will host the inaugural event on Jeju at a course that will give a demanding test for some of the world’s best golfers,” Monday said. “In addition to a great tradition of professional golf at Jeju, the area will provide players, their families, tournament fans, sponsors and our staff with beautiful scenery as well as an abundance of activities to enjoy outside the ropes. The opportunity to play Korea’s first official PGA TOUR FedExCup event on Jeju, combined with the natural beauty of the island, makes for a special event. Our team is excited to work with CJ and the people in Jeju to make THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES a huge success.” Nine Bridges is a premier golf club that has hosted some of the world’s top international tournaments such as CJ Nine Bridges Classic, Korea’s first LPGA tournament and the World Club Championship (WCC), an amateur competition for the world’s top 100 golf club champions. It is the only golf course in Korea to be named one of world’s top 100 golf clubs that has hosted official events on both the PGA TOUR and LPGA. “THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in Jeju is a global sports and cultural platform that will stimulate the economy in Jeju and lead to the revival of the Korean men’s professional golf,” said CJ Group Chairman Sohn. THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will be held domestically for the next 10 years beginning with the 2017 – 2018 PGA TOUR season. The total purse is US $9.25million, and it boasts one of the largest prize pools on the PGA TOUR. THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, which will be broadcasted in 227 countries around the world, will be held at the Nine Bridges for the first time from October 16th to 22nd, and a total of 78 players are expected to play for four days with no cut. Meanwhile, the CJ Group, through sponsor exemptions and other qualification categories, will provide local, domestic players the opportunity to gain entry into the field and bring the slogan ‘Bridge to Realization’, to life as a platform for domestic players to enter the world stage. THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will be broadcast globally via the PGA TOUR’s international broadcast partners, reaching a potential audience of over 1 billion homes. This will reach an audience as significant as the one exposed to the Presidents Cup when it was held in Korea in 2015. SBS, the PGA TOUR’s partner in Korea for over 10 years, will be the host broadcaster of the event.

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