New Sponsor Saves Australian Ladies Masters, Which Will Stay In Queensland

The Australian Ladies Masters golf tournament will remain on the country's Gold Coast due to Korean golf ball manufacturer Volvik "coming to the rescue as a major sponsor," according to Jim Tucker of the COURIER-MAIL. Tournament Chair Bob Tuohy announced Volvik as the new naming-rights partner alongside motoring club RACV for the event, which will be staged at Queensland's Royal Pines golf course Feb. 1-3. Tuohy admitted that there were "real fears that the tournament might not even be staged" for a 24th time. The A$500,000 ($522,000) in prize money had been cut in half, but the new sponsor means the tournament "can hit the €200,000 ($245,000) prize money minimum "required to retain all-important status on the Ladies European Tour." Tuohy gave credit to Korean golf broadcaster J Golf for "sparking the top-level talks" with Volvik Chair Kyung Ahn Moon that led to the deal (COURIER-MAIL, 11/09).