April 17, 2011 Kuala Lumpur – Carlsberg is proud to be part of the action at the 2011 Maybank Malaysian Open held over 4 days from 14th to 17the April at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC). The prestigious tournament, in its 50th year, offered an exciting display of golf with Matteo Manassero (Italy) who sealed a tight victory, scored a total of 16-under 272, ahead Gregory Bourdy (France) and Rory Mcllroy (Ireland).

Carlsberg guests enjoyed the bird’s-eye view of Manassero’s opening action of his final nine holes with the eagle-birdie combination at the Carlsberg Hospitality Marque and other stations. Soren Ravn, Managing Director of Carlsberg Malaysia commented “We always treat Carlsberg fans with exclusive Carlsberg experiences at the Maybank Malaysian Open, that makes them call for a Carlsberg whenever and wherever they are at the tournament. At the 4-day tournament, Carlsberg cum gold avids can either follow the action right at the pitch and within personal distance to the golfers or enjoy pleasant hospitality of Carlsberg sales promoters at the beer stations while sharing the highlights of the tournament with a refreshing glass of Carlsberg.”

This year, Carlsberg had successfully created a phenomenal experience for golfers, fans and the crowd at the venue, KLGCC. The Malaysian village hut design Carlsberg Beer Garden rest house was a great pit stop for all golf fans as they enjoyed the cooling atmosphere while watching the match on screens and keeping note of the live scores from the scoreboard.

Brian O'Keefee, a visitor of the beer garden commented: “Carlsberg has given me such a memorable and wonderful experience, especially its relaxing beer garden and friendly hospitality from the Carlsberg's ambassadors." Golf fans also had the opportunity to meet with some of Carlsberg’s golf ambassadors at the Beer Garden.

The Carlsberg Hospitality Marquee was also buzzing with energy as Carlsberg brought its invited guests to the heart of the game with an excellent view of the 18th hole. With a Carlsberg beer in hand, the guests mingled merrily as they watched the tournament and cheered to their favorite players. The marquee also saw surprise visits from internationally acclaimed golfers, Soren Hansen, Louis Oosthuizen, Iain Steel as well as Carlsberg’s Malaysian golf ambassadors Khor Kheng Hwai and Nicholas Fung.

A new addition to Carlsberg’s activities this year was the hospitality stations along the Carlsberg Trail. Located along the West Course, the stations were popular among the spectators. Golf fans who visited all four hospitality stations were entitled to Carlsberg merchandises. The four lucky winners who won the daily draw of Callaway Razr driver were K. Sivaraman, Fong Kam Ying, Kelvin Ong and Brian.

On his lucky winning, Sivaraman commented: “I am so glad to have been awarded this Callaway Driver by Carlsberg. It’s exciting to see Carlsberg’s rewarding contests every year and I definitely have no regrets on visiting the Carlsberg Trail this year. I look forward to more rewarding Carlsberg activities next year.”

First-time visitor, Fong Kam Ying said: “I am so happy to be one of the four lucky winners of this exclusive Callaway Driver. This is an experience money can’t buy, especially when my name was called while I was enjoying a glass of Carlsberg with my friends. It is very special for me as this is my first time being at the Malaysian Open.”

Kevin Ong, a regular Carlsberg fan agreed: “I’m so happy to be among the lucky winners. It has always been a tradition for me to visit the Carlsberg Beer Garden each year but I have to say that this year’s Carlsberg Beer Garden proved to be more interesting with the stations and trails. Winning this gives me simply the perfect ending to a perfect game.”

Prior to the start of the Maybank Malaysian Open, Carlsberg treated winners of its amateur tournament to the Pro-Am game on April 13. The winners, Alistair Guthrie and Sin Kok Mun were given the opportunity to tee-off in the same flight alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar (India). Commenting on the experience, Guthrie said: “It was a fantastic game and I really enjoyed the great time in the Pro-Am. I really appreciate this, as this is a good learning for me with great experience to play with good golfers at a fantastic golf course. I will definitely join this year’s Carlsberg Golf Classic to get a chance to play in MMO again.”

Key customers and supportive trade partners of Carlsberg Malaysia were also invited to play at the Carlsberg Corporate Golf Game the day after tournament at KLGCC to continue the excitement right after Maybank Malaysian Open.

Known for its long association with golf and being the market leader in the golf segment, Carlsberg continues to be the leading supporter in professional and amateur tournaments in Malaysia. Carlsberg Malaysia has recently renewed its support as Main Sponsor of the Maybank Malaysian Open, from 2011 until the end of the 2015 season.

To celebrate this milestone in Carlsberg’s golf heritage, Carlsberg has partnered with 5 Malaysian professional golfers in an effort to promote the development of local golf and inspire young and upcoming avid golfers as role models. The 5 promising Malaysian professional golfers are Ben Leong, M.Sasidaran, S.Sivachandran, Nicholas Fung and Khor Kheng Hwai.

What says by the golfers:

Ben Leong said: “The crowd this year is very good and there are a lot of golf lovers and fans that supported me throughout my game. There are a lot of star players such as the world ranking no.1 Martin Kaymer which makes it even better. I hope that more young people in Malaysia will join the sport of golf. With more platform provided and support by company like Carlsberg, I believe we can further develop the golf industry in Malaysia.”

S. Sivachandran who earned his Asian Tour card for the 2011 season said “I’m happy with the tournament and the crowd makes the environment warm. This year’s tournament has plenty of very experienced golfers, allowing me to have plenty of learning opportunities from them.”

Khor Kheng Hwai agrees: “This is the first time I’m playing in the tournament and it is really exciting for me, but at the same time nerve-wreaking. The biggest challenge for me today is to handle the stress and be more comfortable playing in front of the crowd. This is really a great opportunity for me to learn.”