Pattaya: The Royal Cup will feature on the Asian Tour schedule as a special event when it is staged at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club next week.
Headlined by the top players from the Asian Tour and Thailand, the US$500,000 event will be played from Dec 28-31.
The 78-man, no-cut field, will consist of the leading players from the final standings on the Asian Tour and Thailand Order of Merit with the winner of the Royal Cup earning exemption status on the Asian Tour.
Sakol Wannapong, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) said: "The Sports Authority of Thailand is very pleased to support this golf event which is one of the significant and honourable tournaments of Thailand.
"The Royal Cup is bestowed on us by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun. The SAT is striving continuously to support all levels of sports in Thailand in order to promote their development, especially golf.
"We believe that the tournament will boost the popularity of golf in Thailand and draw more public interest, both in Thailand and all over the region, promoting tourism in the country."
Chanya Swangchitr, president of the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, said: "The Royal Cup is an important opportunity for us to host another great international tournament in our venue.
"Also, it gives us a chance to welcome top golfers from Asia and Thailand to compete in our stunning and magnificent golf course.
"The tournament is to glorify His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun. And it is also to mark another remarkable event at the golf course. The live broadcast will help promote tourism in Pattaya and Thailand. We are looking forward to welcoming all participants and hope that it will be one of the most exciting tournaments in Thailand."
Asian Tour CEO Josh Burack expressed his support for the Royal Cup as he believes it will not only promote golf in Thailand but also showcase the talents from the Kingdom.
"We are pleased to work in close partnership with the Sports Authority of Thailand, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand and Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in staging the Royal Cup," he said.
"Thailand has the honour of having the most number of players on the Asian Tour final 2017 Order of Merit. Thirteen players finished inside the top 60 on the money list with Phachara Khongwatmai in third position.
"This event will allow the galleries to catch their local heroes in action and is a welcome reward for all the players with the guaranteed prize money during this festive season."
Meanwhile, after winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Malaysian star Gavin Green will turn his attention to the EurAsia Cup.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a stellar 2017 season where he won his first Asian Tour title, was crowned Asia's No.1 and subsequently voted as the players' player of the year.
Following a breakthrough year, the talented Malaysian will be part of a strong Team Asia led by captain Arjun Atwal of India who will go up against Thomas Bjorn's Team Europe at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur from Jan 12-14.
Green will be among six debutants in the 12-man Team Asia but he believes his team has the talent to cause an upset against Team Europe, who won the last edition of the EurAsia Cup. It was a 10-10 draw in the first showpiece in 2014.
"This will be something very new for me but it will be a great honour to represent Asia. It is a very young team but there are also a lot of young guys with a lot of experience playing in the big tours and in majors. It will be a good event for us to learn and maybe kick some butt," Green said.