RW Manila plays first golf game

Resorts World Manila has inked a 5-year deal with the Asian Tour to be the title sponsor of a new golf tournament scheduled on November.The US$750,000 Resorts World Manila Masters is Resorts World's first sponsorship deal with the Asian Tour, which is the official sanctioning body for professional golf in the region.It will tee off at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club from 14 - 17 November. All four rounds of the tournament will be aired live on Asian Tour's network partners to reach over 200 countries and 650 million homes.The country now hosts three international golf events, a positive sign of its growing reputation as a prime destination for top golfers as well as brands on the hunt for sponsorships and sales.Most recent was the US$300,000 Solaire Open also under the Asian Tour held two weeks ago. Scheduled also on November, the Philippine Open, Asia's oldest golf tournament, will compete with the Resorts World Manila Masters with a purse of $700,000 managed by Asian Tour's rival OneAsia Tour."We want our event to be the golfing pride of the Philippines," Resorts World Manila COO Steve Reilly.He also said that the tournament is massive boost for the development of the game in the Philippines and across Asia, especially with golf returning to the Olympic Games in 2016.