Kaymer, Schwartzel to play Malaysia Open
Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel have been confirmed as contestants for the Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on April 12-15.
The tournament, won last year by Italian rising star Matteo Manassero, is jointly-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, and has a $2.5m prize fund.
The presence of these two gallery favorite major winners has added some real kudos for this old tournament which is being played for the 51st time.
Unfortunately there are rumours that the the high ranking pair have negotiated appearance money. Maybank chairman Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohamad Nor declined to mention the existence of any appearance money involved in persuading both high profile players to feature at the event. The controversial subject of appearance money has been churning out debates of whether players should accept the hefty sums of money just to appear at the event regardless of whether they make the halfway cut or not. Sometimes appearance money surpasses the actual winner’s prize cheque, rendering severe blow to the credibility of the event.
