KUALA LUMPUR: Major champions Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Germany’s Martin Kaymer will headline the inaugural ‎Maybank Championship Malaysia‬ from February 18-21 at the venerable Royal Selangor Golf Club.

Event organisers also revealed the breakdown of the player field for the US$3 million tournament, which will be co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours with the support of the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM) and the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, during a press call on Wednesday.

Maybank chairman Tan Sri Dato’ Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor noted that the fruition of the Maybank Championship Malaysia signalled a fresh start for the regional banking giant’s golf sponsorship programme.

“Golf tournaments in the region have reached a pivotal point as the quality of the organisation, courses and star players have grown over the years. As a long-time supporter and sponsor of Malaysian golf, Maybank has been at the forefront of that evolution.

“Today, we’re beginning the next stage of that growth as we focus our attention on creating a Championship that seeks to elevate the entire field of play, grow and sustain the attention of spectators from across the region and ensure that every player is given the same respect and attention as would have been reserved for star players in years past,” said Megat Zaharuddin.

He noted that confirmation of Kaymer and Oosthuizen is a real “statement of intent” from Maybank to raise the bar for professional golf in the ASEAN region by ensuring a field of play that is of high quality.

“The inclusion of the players like Oosthuizen and Kaymer alongside a field of play that is being curated to be among the best in Asia is sure to elevate our flagship tournament as we begin a new chapter in the ASEAN professional golf scene,” added.

The 156-men field will comprise of the top available sixty-seven (67) players from the European and Asian Tours as well as five spots for ASEAN professionals.

A slot has been allocated for the top player on the Middle East North African (MENA) Tour while another two wildcard slots reserved for top players, who are not members of the European or Asian Tours.

An invite has also been accorded to Chinese amateur Cheng Jin, who triumphed in the seventh edition of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Hong Kong last month.

On the domestic front, a minimum of 13 Malaysians will be in the field for the maiden edition of Championship, with the top ten (10) Professional Golf Association of Malaysia (PGAM) members on the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour Order of Merit at the end of the 2015 season receiving automatic starts.

A further two spots have been put aside for Malaysian professionals, with one being reserved for winner of the PGM Tour’s season-ending Maybank Players Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club from December 9-12.

The highest-ranked local amateur on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) will also be awarded a start.