Lop Buri: The 2019 Asian Tour season will reach its climax at the Thailand Masters next month.
The US$500,000 Asian Tour event, to be held at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya, will draw the curtain down on a memorable season.
The winner of the Dec 19-22 tournament will receive the trophy graciously donated by Her Majesty the Queen.
Several big-name stars have confirmed their participation in the tournament including Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jazz Janewattananond, Australia's Scott Hend, and Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts who won the French Open last month.
The Thailand Masters is promoted by the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation which Thai golfing legend Thongchai Jaidee oversees.
Using his legendary status and golf as a vehicle, Thongchai, who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, hopes to draw attention to his foundation which was launched in 2009.
The foundation's aim is to help under-privileged golfers in his hometown of Lop Buri as well as pave the way for aspiring talents to follow in his footsteps.
A strong advocate for the development of golf in the region, Thongchai holds an unprecedented three Asian Tour Order of Merit crowns and has hosted three successful editions of the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation tournament on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) along with the foundation's inaugural collaboration with the Queen's Cup held last November.
"I'm always looking for ways to give back to the game which has brought me so much success," Thongchai, a 13-time Asian Tour winner, told a press conference on Monday.
"I hope we can unearth future talents from the Asian Tour through the staging of the Thailand Maters. I'll be extending invitations to 25 selected players from around the world to add strength and depth to the field."