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golfers in south east asia had a reason to cheer after german carmaker mercedes-benz announced a half a million us dollar annual sponsorship deal for the fledgling asean golf tour. the asean golf tour which is only a year old and will have ten tournaments in its latest season teeing off in may, will be sponsored by mercedes-benz for a three year period. 9. 01:23 - soundbite (english), dr rainer thiel "in golf, we have a huge customer base around the world. and for us to be here in south east asia with all the enthusiasm in golf, it was a must for us to support the idea." lam chih bing of singapore has had experience playing on the asian tour and a few european tour events. 5. 00:26 - soundbite (english), lam chih bing "… i've got a lot of friends who have got lot of talent. but they have no where to play because they just couldn't get on to the asian tour. i think this tour gives a platform for lot of guys to go to some bigger tours in future". the 2008 mercedes-benz tour will feature at least 10 tournaments all offering prize money of 50 thousand dollars with the tour championship at the end of the season offering 75 thousand dollars. --------------------------------------- chosen soundbites for no-speak --------------------------------------- 9. 01:23 - soundbite (english), dr rainer thiel "in golf, we have a huge customer base around the world. and for us to be here in south east asia with all the enthusiasm in golf, it was a must for us to support the idea." 5. 00:26 - soundbite (english), lam chih bing "… i've got a lot of friends who have got lot of talent. but they have no where to play because they just couldn't get on to the asian tour. i think this tour gives a platform for lot of guys to go to some bigger tours in future". --------------------------------------- original script --------------------------------------- type:nat sound golf in the south east asian (asean) countries received a major boost after german car maker mercedez-benz promised annual title sponsorship worth half a million dollars for a period of three years on tuesday (march 4). the asean golf tour has been in existence for the previous year and has organised five tournaments in the inaugural year. the latest season of the tour has an impressive ten tournaments on its initial schedule and is set to tee off in indonesia this coming may. suggested voiceover: golfers in the south east asian countries had a reason to cheer on tuesday. at a press conference in singapore, the german car maker mercedez-benz announced a us$ 500,000 annual sponsorship deal for the fledgling asean golf tour for a period of three years, which begins in 2008. the asean golf tour is only a year old and will have ten tournaments in its latest season schedule, which is set to tee-off in may. thailand's former para-trooper turned professional golfer, thongchai jaidee, is perhaps the most well-known golfer from the asean region. lam chih bing of singapore has had reasonable experience playing on the asian tour and a few european tour events. chih bing believes the asean golf tour will be a fantastic platform for young golfers in the region. soundbite: (english) "well...i think it's a great tour for a lot of guys with no opportunity to play full time on the asian tour or some of the bigger tours. i've got a lot of friends who have got lot of talent. but they have no where to play because they just couldn't get on to the asian tour. i think this tour gives a platform for lot of guys to go to some bigger tours in future". super caption: lam chih bing, singapore the chairman of asean golf tour, ac wong of singapore, is hoping the tour will act as a feeder line for talented golfers to progress to bigger tours later on. soundbite: (english) "say three to five years given...we need to recreate opportunities for the mamat mardan, the thongchai jaidee, and the prayad marksaeng and lam chih bing to come forward. and without such tour this opportunity will not be there". super caption: ac wong, chairman - asean golf tour the 2008 mercedez-benz tour will feature at least ten tournaments all offering prize money of us$50,000, with the season-ending tour championship offering us$ 75,000. given the popularity of golf in the region, the german car maker admits the decision to be the title sponsor was a no-brainer. soundbite: (english) "in golf, we have a huge customer base around the world. and for us to be here in south east asia with all the enthusiasm in golf, it was a must for us to support the idea. especially because we are supporting youth talents to come forward into pro activities". super caption: dr rainer thiel, president & ceo, daimler south east asia pte ltd the mercedez-benz events will be played in indonesia, the philippines, malaysia, singapore, vietnam and thailand during the current season, which starts on the 15th of may 2008. shotlist: singapore. 4th march 2008 1. 00:00 - various of press conference banner file: source - worldsport 2. 00:08 - thongchai jaidee in action during 2005 singapore open singapore. 4th march 2008 3. 00:17 - wide of press conference 4. 00:22 - lam chih bing at the presser 5. 00:26 - soundbite (english), lam chih bing 6. 00:50 - wide of presser 7. 00:55 - soundbite (english), ac wong 8. 01:17 - pan of press conference banner 9. 01:23 - soundbite (english), dr rainer thiel file: source - worldsport 10. 01:45 - thongchai jadiee in action during 2005 singapore open source: sntv