Bangkok, Thailand; May 13: When he heard that his sponsors Singha were starting a charity drive linked to golf events, Prayad Marksaeng (right) was one of the first to show an interest.
The 45-year-old Thai star now enjoys a comfortable lifestyle due to his successful professional career but he has not forgotten his humble beginnings in Hua Hin and is actively involved in Singha’s charity efforts, which currently focus on small communities in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand.
The charity push is centred on events sponsored and run by Singha on the All Thailand Golf Tour and has caught the eye of the ASEAN PGA Tour, which co-sanctioned last week’s Singha Pattaya Open won by Prom Meesawat.
“This year one of the goals of the ASEAN PGA is to promote various charities around the region in conjunction with our events,” said ASEAN PGA executive director Ramlan Haron.
“We want to raise the awareness of the public and players on the Tour. It was interesting to see what Singha did at the Pattaya Open as that is similar to what we have planned. It is wonderful what they are doing already in Thailand.
“We want players competing on the ASEAN PGA Tour to start identifying with charities in the region – professional golfers are a privileged group and need to realise how lucky they are in life. The ASEAN PGA is in the process of looking at charities in each of the countries where tournaments are staged and we hope to have something in place this year,” he added.
Singha, a long-time supporter of golf in Thailand, plans to hold charity pro-ams, lucky draws and raffles during five tournaments this year, including the Singha Esan Open, which will also feature on the ASEAN PGA Tour.
Cash raised helps to fund a Learning Centre in Chiang Rai that gives 150 underprivileged children the opportunity to learn life skills as well as music and art.
“This project affords professional players, amateur golfers, fans and the people who work at our golf tournaments the opportunity to give something back to the community,” said Rungnapa Surached, Managing Director, Sports Management Group (SMG).
SMG, an offshoot of Singha Corporation, manages professional golfers, tennis players and swimmers and organises, promotes and runs golf tournaments in Thailand.
As well as operating the LearningCentre, Singha works with local community leaders in the area to promote environmental issues, such as water management and forest conservation, the use of alternative medicine and developing local sports.
During February’s Singha Masters at Santiburi Country Club in Chiang Rai, SMG arranged for a number of golfers to attend a sports day at the Learning Centre, much to the delight of the children.
“Prayad came along and cooked some food for the kids,” said Rungnapa. “He is from a community like this one in Chiang Rai, so he understands the problems. He wants to give back to the community – he says ‘nobody did anything like this for us when I was growing up’ – and is happy to help with the project in any way he can.”
Rungnapa added that the grassroots project helped community leaders improve life in their villages through learning. “It is not a lot of money but what we raise provides a link in the chain,” she said. “We are encouraging other sponsors to join in the charity push and a number of them have responded favourably.”
Source: www.aseanpgatour.com
