The 50-year-old former US Masters champion who is currently enjoying an outstanding maiden season on the Champions Tour will draw the crowds when the championship tees-off at The Lakes in Sydney from December 2 to 5.

Prize money for the prestigious event will be US$1.3 million (AU$1.5 million) and for the second successive season it will be the penultimate leg on OneAsia.

Minister for Major Events Kevin Greene said Sydney is synonymous with the Australian Open, a flagship event of our great sporting nation, first played in Sydney in 1904.

"To have one of golf's most respected players Fred Couples playing this year is an honour for Sydney and this historic tournament.

"Together with Golf Australia we have a vision to transform the Australian Open into the pre-eminent golf tournament on OneAsia ," Minister Greene said.

Couples is the latest big name addition to the tournament which will also feature defending champion Adam Scott from Australia and his compatriots Greg Norman, a five-time winner of the event, and Geoff Ogilvy.

American John Daly also recently announced he will join the stellar field.

Said Couples: "I am very much looking forward to playing in the Australian Open in particular The Lakes Golf Club. I have not been to Sydney for some time and look forward to visiting this magnificent city once again."

Couples' participation will also mean the tournament will provide golf fans with the exciting chance to see last year's two Presidents Cup captains. The American captained his side to victory over Norman's International Team.

Couples continues to play golf at the highest level. This year he won his first Champions Tour event in only his second start at ACE Group Classic and went on to win two more tournaments.

During a glittering career he claimed the US Masters in 1992 and won 14 other US PGA Tour titles. He triumphed in the World Cup with Davis Love III for four consecutive years from 1992 and played in five Ryder Cups.

He is known the world over as "Boom boom" because of the huge drives he hits with his effortless and much admired swing.

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt said "With a top six finish at Augusta and three wins on the Champions Tour, Fred is an outstanding competitor and one of the world's most exciting players to watch.

Watching both Presidents Cup captains alongside fan favourite John Daly will be a major thrill for our crowds."

Last year Scott won his first Australian Open title by five shots over compatriot Stuart Appleby after a tense final round at the NSW Golf Club.

The Australian Open was first played in 1904 and has been won by the biggest names in the game. South African Gary Player has lifted the Stonehaven Cup a record seven times while Jack Nicklaus from the United States has been victorious on six occasions.

The Australian Open is a flagship sporting event on the NSW Master Events Calendar developed by Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.

The championship will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available domestically on Network Ten, as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

To be played for the sixth successive season at Sentosa Golf Club from November 11 to 14 the total purse will be a staggering US$6 million.

A host of other star players will be announced over the next few months for a tournament that will also see some exciting new changes to its format.

For the second year in a row it will be joint-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and The European Tour and for the first time a field of 204 players will compete on both The Serapong and The Tanjong Courses.

Players will play on both courses for the first two days and after the halfway cut is made they will compete on The Serapong course at the weekend.

"This will be the best field we've yet had at the Barclays Singapore Open," said Robert Morrice, Chairman & CEO Asia Pacific, Barclays PLC, "We are excited about growing the tournament with this increased field of players from around the world. Golf is a cornerstone of our brand strategy, with the Barclays Singapore Open following on from The Barclays in the US and the Scottish Open."

In an exciting development last year Barclays announced they would continue their sponsorship of what is Asia's richest national Open until at least 2012. They have been title sponsor since 2006.

The top 75 players from the Asian Tour and top 75 from The European Tour will make up the bulk of the field. In a move that will truly open up the tournament to the whole Asia Pacific region 32 positions have been allocated to members of the Mercedes-Benz Tour (7), the PGA Tour of Australasia (5), the China Golf Association Tour (5), the Korean Golf Tour (5) and the Professional Golf Tour of India (5).

Ten places will be for sponsor invites while four amateurs from the Singapore Golf Association and three professionals from the Singapore Professional Golfers' Association will play.

"We are proud to be the home of the Barclays Singapore Open and delighted to have the opportunity to showcase both our championship courses to the world," said Mike Barclay, CEO of Sentosa Development Corporation.

"Some of the best players in the world have complimented the look and feel of the tournament, comparing it to a Major set up. This event has shown that Sentosa Golf Club can deliver one of the best championship courses in Asia, if not the world."

Nearly 40,000 fans came to watch last year when England's Ian Poulter tasted victory and with the world's best players returning in November that figured is expected to be surpassed.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han saluted Barclays and Sentosa Golf Club for their commitment to Singapore's national championship. "On behalf of our talented members, I would like to commend Barclays and Sentosa for raising the bar over the past few years. The Barclays Singapore Open has become a truly a world-class championship which ultimately showcases the best of Asian golf to the world. The increase in the tournament's prize fund to US$6 million is another significant endorsement of Asian golf," said Han.

Crowd favourite Mickelson has competed in the last three Barclays Singapore Opens with his best finish coming in 2008 when he finished ninth.

The American will arrive in Singapore as the reigning US Masters Champion - which he won in April for the third time. He has claimed four Majors in total and 38 US PGA Tour events.

Scott has an outstanding record on The Serapong Course. In 2006, he beat Ernie Els from South Africa to become the first player to successfully defend Singapore's national Open. A year earlier he won the title by seven strokes.

He nearly made it three in a row after finishing third in 2007, while victory narrowly eluded him in 2009 when he came joint third.

Harrington lost by one stroke to Indian Jeev Milkha Singh in the 2008 Barclays Singapore Open.

That came at the end of a year that saw him reach stardom by winning both the Open Championship and US PGA Championship. He also claimed the Open in 2007 and has truly established himself as one of Europe's finest ever golfers.

Korean star Yang will be making his first appearance in the Barclays Singapore Open.

He shot to fame last year when he became the first Asian to win a Major by overtaking American Tiger Woods in the final round of the US PGA Championship.

"YE" as he is better known has already tasted victory this year in Asia as he claimed the Volvo China Open, on OneAsia.

This year will be the 47th edition of the event. It was not played between 2002 and 2004, but returned to the Asian Tour schedule in 2005 thanks to the support of Sentosa and the efforts of the event promoter World Sport Group.

"The larger field will give more Asian golfers the opportunity to compete at the highest level at a world class event, which can only be good for the further development of golf in this region. This could not have happened without the commitment from Barclays and Sentosa Development Corporation," said Chris Jordan, Senior Vice President, Golf, World Sport Group.

The Barclays Singapore Open continues to set new standards for golf in the region, which is something that it has always done since its inauguration.

With a list of past champions that dates back to 1961, the tournament has earned its place in the history books as an event that helped build the foundations for the development of tournament golf in Asia.

Please visit www.barclayssingaporeopen.com for more information.

Liang jumped seven places after taking the title and is now the fourth ranked Asian on the world rankings behind Koreans Y. E. Yang (37th) and K. J. Choi (49th) and Japan young gun Ryo Ishikawa (56th).

"One of my targets this year is to get into the top 50 in the world rankings," said Liang during the Thailand Open. "That will assure me spots in all the Majors next year."

The 32-year-old Liang lifted his third OneAsia title by one stroke after holding off challenges from Thai rising star Namchok Tantipokhakul and veteran Michael Wright from Australia at Burapha Golf Club.

He won last year's Midea China Classic and the 2010 season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open.

The former Asian number one is enjoying a rich vein of form.

He followed up a second place finish at the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta in July with an outstanding display at the final Major of the year, the US PGA Championship, where he shot a course record 64 in the third round at Whistling Straits on his way to eighth spot in the elite field.

His winnings of US$180,000 at the Thailand Open saw him leapfrog Yang into top spot on the OneAsia Order of Merit with earnings of US$493,200.

The 32-year-old claimed his third OneAsia title by one shot after holding off a spirited challenge from young Thai star Namchok Tantipokhakul and veteran Michael Wright from Australia.

Liang, who started the day with a one shot lead, closed with a three-under-par 69 for a tournament total of 18-under-par 270

Namchok, aged 23, was roared on by the spectators and shot 69 while Wright fired 68.

In an incredibly close finish which saw the lead being tied on several occasions Liang made a crucial birdie on the par-four 16th after holing a 30 foot putt.

"I am very excited and I really enjoyed this tournament. It was close all the way as there were some very good players trying to win," said Liang.

Two weeks ago Liang finished joint eighth in the US PGA Championship so he arrived as the pre-tournament favourite.

"I was very tired when I arrived as my schedule has been hectic. So I wasn't very sure how this week would go. It gives me a lot of confidence to know I can play at this level after such a busy stretch," added the Chinese golfer, who won US$180,000.

Liang played steady golf today but birdies were hard to come by as he only made three.

The silverware will sit in his cabinet along with his two other OneAsia trophies the 2009 Midea China Classic and this year's season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open.

The victory has also moved him to the top of the OneAsia Order of Merit with earnings of US$439,200 from the four events he has played in.

Namchok, highly rated by all his peers, was bidding to become only the second Thai player to win his national Open.

He appeared to be out of the running his with nine straight pars on the outward half but raised the hopes of the home fans by coming home in three under.

"Today I was very calm and did not feel under any pressure. The turning point was the 15th and 16th. I did not get birdies there and Liang holed his long birdie putt at the 16th," said Namchok.

Namchok won the Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit title last year following two victories.

"I am very proud of my achievement in my first Thailand Open. The spectators were great - they were willing me to win. This is my best performance in an international tournament and I want to go on and represent Thailand in overseas events," added Namchok, who just missed a 45 foot birdie putt on the last to force a play-off.

An eagle by Wright on the par-five 14th saw him come close to recording an upset victory.

Said Wright: "This has been one of my best weeks ever. Actually I did not hit it that good - my performance was all about positive self talk. I am usually the first to beat the hell out of myself mentally if things go wrong but this week I made sure I did not do that. I have been working hard and this is the reward. I am wrapped. It would have been nice to win but I am very happy at my second place.

The week's event has been showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

This year's Thailand Open is being co-sponsored by Singha Corporation, PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Emirates, and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.

The next event on OneAsia is the Korea Open at Woo Jeoung Hills Golf Club from October 7 to 10.

Leading final round scores:

Par 72 (Thai unless stated)

270 - Liang Wenchong (CHN) 67 67 67 69

271 - Michael Wright (AUS) 70 66 67 68, Namchok Tantipokhakul 69 66 67 69

272 - Kang Sung-hoon (KOR) 70 69 68 65

273 - Udorn Duangdecha 72 60 75 66, Matthew Griffin (AUS) 68 65 70 70, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 72 63 67 71

274 - Simon Yates (SCO) 72 70 65 67, Pijit Petchkasem 69 67 69 69, Thaworn Wiratchant 71 70 67 66

275 - Shingo Katayama (JPN) 70 71 68 66, Andre Stolz (AUS) 67 69 72 67, Michael Hendry (NZL) 70 70 65 70

276 - Stephen Allan (AUS)70 66 70 70, Neven Basic (AUS) 70 68 68 70

278 - Chinnarat Phadungsil 73 66 72 67, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 68 67 73 70

279 - Anthony Summers (AUS) 75 68 68 68, Kiradech Aphibarnrat 70 74 65 70, Danny Chia (MAS) 70 68 71 70, Poom Saksansin (a) 71 72 66 70, Kwon Sung-youl (KOR) 69 70 70 70, David Bransdon (AUS) 69 70 66 74

Selected:

280 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 71 70 68 71

Please visit http://oneasia.asia for full scores.

Katayama, Japan's number one on five occasions and the winner of 26 events on the lucrative circuit, holed his second shot at the 531-yard par-five 10th hole at Burapha Golf Club.

"I hit a great three wood 237 yards," beamed the charismatic Katayama. "I did not see it go in but when it hit the green I knew that it was on line. It was my playing partner Mardan Mamat who told me I had holed it.

"It is the first time in my career that I have had an albatross so it was really exciting. I feel really good."

The two at the par-five helped Katayama to a six-under-par 66, eventually placing him joint 11th alongside Andre Stolz of Australia and Michael Hendry of New Zealand.

The colourful Japanese, dubbed "The Cat in the Hat" for his flamboyant head gear, finished the Thailand Open on 13-under-par 275.

Katayama also played the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta on OneAsia and said that he hoped the fledgling Tour would be able to stage an event in Japan in the near future.

"I am really happy to have had this opportunity to play on OneAsia," said the 37-year-old Katayama, who has won US$17.3 million during his career.

"I would like to see a OneAsia tournament in Japan soon."

For more information please visit http://oneasia.asia.

Liang shot his third straight five-under-par 67 for a three round total of 15-under-par 201.

He leads by one stroke from Thailand's young gun Namchok Tantipokhakul and Terry Pilkadaris - the Australian who is a player on a mission this week.

Namchok and Pilkadaris also carded 67s at Burapha Golf Club.

Thailand's Udorn Duangdecha who led after day two with a sensational 60 fell back with a 75 and is six strokes adrift.

Liang, who has won two times on OneAsia and was second in the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta last month made six birdies and a bogey.

"I missed a lot of birdie putts, probably about three that should have gone in. I played the back nine in three under which felt good as I struggled coming in on the first two days," said Liang.

The 32-year-old won the season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open on OneAsia, and claimed last year's Midea China Classic.

"It is good to be in position again. They key thing in the final round is concentration. I have learned not to even think about winning but to just think about each shot," added Liang, who two weeks ago finished joint eighth in the US PGA Championship.

Namchok, aged 23, is rated by many as the best young player in the country and he showed that today.

"I think I will feel some pressure tomorrow playing in the last group with Liang Wenchong. I have been in the last group three times before in my career and won twice," said Namchok, who claimed last year's Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit title after two victories.

The rising star birdied the difficult par-four 18th with a 20-foot birdie putt.

"This is my first time to play in the Thailand Open and it would be an honour to win the King's Trophy at my first attempt. I think I have a chance to win. I think 20 under par will be the winning score. Liang Wenchong could be my main challenger - he can shoot low every day," added Namchok.

Pilkadaris is on the threshold of victory despite being under a huge amount of pressure.

His wife Monique, a psychologist who is caddying for him, was diagnosed with Autoimmune disease in March and a recent biopsy found a tumor on her liver.

Fortunately the tumor has been diagnosed benign and her illness is at stage one which should not progress.

It has been a worrying time made even harder by the fact that this week he was suspended indefinitely from the Asian Tour for playing on OneAsia.

The Asian Tour have been fining players competing on OneAsia and Pilkadaris has refused to pay the fine for the Indonesia Open. He is currently engaged in a restraint of trade action against the Asian Tour in the Singapore High Court.

"With all that's been going on it's just great to be in contention. I have received so much support here and back home. It has really lifted me," said Pilkadaris.

He fired a bogey free round and an eagle on the par five 14th saw his share the lead temporarily.

"We are just keeping things simple and clearing my mind. I have been over complicating things so we have just gone back to basics," added Pilkadaris.

The Australian claimed three titles on the Asian Tour with the last one being the Brunei Open in 2005.

Australians Michael Wright and Matthew Griffin are joint fourth two off the lead. Wright fired 67 and Griffin came in with 70.

New Zealand's Michael Hendry, winner of the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta, fought his way back into contention with a 65 and is 11 under.

Simon Yates from Scotland fired the same score and moved to nine under, while a stroke further back is Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant, who carded a 67.

Two of the events other pre-tournament favourites Shingo Katayama from Japan and Singaporean Mardan Mamat are seven under after shooting 68.

The week's event will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available across South East Asian and domestically on ESPN Star Sports, as well as internationally on Network Ten, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

This year's Thailand Open is being co-sponsored by Singha Corporation, PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Emirates, and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.

Leading third round scores:

Par 72 (Thai unless stated)

201 - Liang Wenchong (CHN) 67 67 67

202 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 72 63 67, Namchok Tantipokhakul 69 66 67

203 - Michael Wright (AUS) 70 66 67, Matthew Griffin (AUS) 68 65 70

205 - Michael Hendry (NZL) 70 70 65, David Bransdon (AUS) 69 70 66, Pijit Petchkasem 69 67 67

206 - Neven Basic (AUS) 70 68 68, Stephen Allan (AUS) 70 66 70

207 - Simon Yates (SCO) 72 70 65, Kang Sung-hoon (KOR) 70 69 68, Udorn Duangdecha (THA) 72 60 75

Selected:

208 - Thaworn Wiratchant 71 70 67

209 - Shingo Katayama (JPN) 70 71 68, Mardan Mamat (SIN) 71 70 68

For scoreboards, hole-by-hole results and daily draw updates, please visit: http://oneasia.asia 

The 39-year-old, who has become famous for wearing flamboyant golf gear, moved to 12-under-par 132 for the tournament and a one stroke lead over Australian Matthew Griffin.

Griffin returned a 65, while Chinese number one Liang Wenchong is a stroke further back after carding a 67.

Unfortunately Udorn's remarkable round could not stand as a record as preferred lies were played.

It was a bogey free round which saw him start on the tenth and make the turn in five-under-par 31. He then tore apart the next nine in 29 shots. He made six birdies in a row starting on the 18th before crossing over to continue his birdie spree.

The man from Chiang Mai, who has been a professional for nearly 20 years, won the Singha Pattaya Open on the Mercedes-Benz Tour here at Burapha in April.

He has played on the course many times in local events and has rarely had a bad round.

"I love this course because it keeps making me a lot of money," joked Udorn.

After the round there was more of a confident air about him rather than one of surprise.

"Everything went to plan today. In the first round I tried too hard. I told myself to relax and it all came together. I was not nervous at all. I knew what I had to do," he added.

Nine of his birdie putts were from inside 12 feet. The other birdies came from a chip in, and one long putt from 40 feet.

Griffin, ranked the number three amateur in the world before turning professional in 2008, also did not drop a shot as he bid for his first big breakthrough win.

"I played really well and kept the ball in place nicely. I have been putting myself into good positions in tournaments for a while but have not been able to finish off the job. I am trying to learn to relax more and that's my plan for the weekend. It will take good attacking golf and low scores to win this," said Griffin.

Liang, a two-time winner on OneAsia, started the day in the joint lead and appeared to be forging ahead after making three birdies on the trot from the second.

However a level par back nine saw him lose ground slightly.

Said the 32-year-old Liang: "I missed some birdie chances which was disappointing and dropped shots at the fifth and 11th. Overall I am quite happy with my play and I am only a couple of shots behind. I have to work out the key to scoring well on the back nine around here. Over the two days I have had 11 birdies on the front nine but just two on the back nine."

Thailand's Namchok Tantipokhakul and Australians Terry Pilkadaris and Brad Kennedy are joint fourth three off the lead. They shot rounds of 66, 63 and 67 respectively.

Namchok won last year's Mercedes-Benz Tour Order of Merit title after two victories and is continuing to make a name for himself. He eagled the par five-10th, which was his opening hole.

"I have been playing well this year and I am confident with my game - I think I have a chance of winning. Every Thai player wants to win the King's Trophy (awarded to the winner of the Thailand Open). To win this week would make me very proud," said Namchok.

The halfway cut was made at level par 144.

Malaysian number one Danny Chia carded a 68 and is six under for the tournament.

New Zealand's Michael Hendry, winner of the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta, fired a 70 and is four under.

Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand, Singaporean Mardan Mamat, and Japan's Shingo Katayama are a shot back.

The week's event will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available across South East Asian and domestically on ESPN Star Sports, as well as internationally on Network Ten, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

This year's Thailand Open is being co-sponsored by Singha Corporation, PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Emirates, and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.

Leading second round scores:

Par 72 (Thai unless stated)

132 - Udorn Duangdecha 72 60

133 - Matthew Griffin (AUS) 68 65 

134 - Liang Wenchong (CHN) 67 67 

135 - Namchok Tantipokhakul 69 66, Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 72 63, Brad Kennedy (AUS) 68 67 

136 - Andre Stolz (AUS) 67 69, Stephen Allan (AUS) 70 66, Michael Wright (AUS) 70 66, Pijit Petchkasem 69 67 

137 - Pariya Junhasavasdikul 67 70 

138 - Neven Basic (AUS) 70 68, Danny Chia (MAS) 70 68 

Please visit http://oneasia.asia 

Designed by world renowned firm Arup Sport and Singapore's leading architect practice DP Architects, the facilities will comprise:
• A 55,000 seat state of the art stadium with retractable roof, moveable tiers and environmentally friendly bowl cooling system
• An aquatic centre featuring Olympic swimming and diving facilities as well as leisure components
• A 3,000-capacity multi-purpose arena which is organised as two scalable and flexible multi-purpose modular halls
• A watersports centre
• A sports library, a sports museum and exhibition space
• 41,000 sqm of retail, restaurants and entertainment space.

The project has been designed to achieve the vision and objectives of developing a thriving sporting and healthy life style culture, underpinned by high calibre international events as well as by an array of community activities brought by World Sport Group, Asia's leading sports marketing, media and event management company, and Global Spectrum Pico Ltd, part of the Comcast Spectator group.

The new facilities will be built by Dragages Singapore, Asia's engineering and construction arm of the French Bouygues group and maintained by UGL Premas, South Asia's leading facilities and life cycle management company, part of the Australian UGL group.

The Singapore Indoor Stadium, being taken over today by the consortium, will be integrated with the new facilities.

SportsHub Pte Ltd is committed to work in partnership with the Sports Council to develop the best sport and entertainment facility in the region featuring a programme of local, regional and international events for everyone, fulfilling the "Sporting Singapore" vision and promoting participation, excellence and industry.

Key participants in the project are:

Shareholders:
Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd
HSBC Infrastructure Fund III
United Premas Limited
Global Spectrum Pico Holdings Pte Ltd

Contractors:
Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd
United Premas Limited
Global Spectrum Pico Ltd
World Sport Group

Designers:
Arup Sport
DP Architects
AECOM
Squiremech
Meinhardt International Pte Ltd

Advisors:
The HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
Norton Rose (Asia) LLP
Rajah & Tann LLP
Knight Frank
Faithful & Gould
Ashurst LLB-Singapore
KPMG
Ernst & Young
Ovations
Willis (Singapore) Pte Ltd
AON Risk Services
EC Harris
Mott MacDonald
Cisco Security

Lenders:
The HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited
DBS Bank Limited
Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank
BNP Paribas
Natixis
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
WestLB AG
Standard Chartered Bank
National Australia Bank
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

2. Said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth & Sports: "I am glad that we are ready to start construction of the Singapore Sports Hub. It will be a fully integrated sports, leisure, entertainment and lifestyle hub for world class events and community activities. The facilities will be accessible to both the general public and top athletes to train and compete in."

3. "As part of the Greater Marina Bay masterplan, the Singapore Sports Hub will also contribute to the larger government objective of repositioning Singapore as a great place to work, live and play," added Dr Balakrishnan.

4. Mr Oon Jin Teik, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Sports Council said: "Based on international feedback and comparison of the Singapore Sports Hub with other major sports facilities around the world, I am confident to say that our Sports Hub is highly unique as it is conceived as part of the larger Sporting Singapore 2001 blueprint which looks at sports development holistically. It is guided by the project objectives and desired outcomes which have a clear focus on target audiences. A programming-led strategy will keep the Sports Hub abuzz with activities on a daily basis and we have the world's first integrated land and water sports facility with extensive retail space and a sea front location within the city."

5. The Singapore Sports Hub was designed with the end users in mind and every effort has been made to ensure a delightful experience for spectators, participants, event companies, the sports fraternity, commercial tenants, and others. For example:

• For easy accessibility to the Sports Hub in Kallang, the Stadium Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station is located next to the National Stadium. The entire Sports Hub is also designed with features to facilitate movement for people with disabilities.

• For the comfort of all spectators, the new National Stadium will feature individual seats, natural ventilation and a retractable roof for all-weather enjoyment. It will be Singapore's largest all weather sports venue, and uses an innovative bowl cooling system that provides comfort with limited energy usage. The new National Stadium also features retractable seating which will allow us to bring spectators up close to the action, customized for soccer, rugby, cricket, athletics, and major spectacular events (e.g. National Day Parades).

• For the enjoyment of mobile and technology-savvy stakeholders, including remote spectators, the entire Sports Hub will be wired up with fiber optics and driven by technology and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to ensure a refreshing, immersive, and interactive user experience. The entire Sports Hub, supported by a sports library and sports museum, will showcase knowledge-intensive sports offerings and integrate the past, present, and future of Singapore and Asian sports.

• For a diverse and participative experience for youths, seniors, and families, a host of community facilities are also provided and integrated within the Sports Hub. These include a beach volleyball court, rock climbing wall, hard courts, a Skate Park, an area for lawn bowling, and a 1-km jogging track located on the perimeter of the National Stadium. And when visitors have finished their sports games, they can hit the 41,000 sqm of retail shopping, health & wellness offerings, and food & beverage outlets.

• For the convenience of elite athletes with a hectic schedule, state-of-the-art training facilities, a comprehensive suite of services for rest and recovery, and a facility for short term stay will be offered to help them achieve podium success. There will be a sports-solution collaboration platform for the sports industry business partners and sports science & medicine specialists.

6. Visitors can also look forward to a host of international and local sports and entertainment events, maximizing the open land space, water body, and arenas. Additionally, Singapore Sports Hub will continue to attract live entertainment events (e.g. concerts and artistes from around the world), MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, & exhibitions) events, and other exciting entertainment events and activities for the community.

7. For event organizers, the flexible, scalable, and modular design of the Sports Hub provides a multi functional layout that is designed to the relevant sport's International Federation specifications. To propel sports sponsorship, the Sports Hub is fully cabled for broadcast, thereby allowing events to be transmitted to the billions of viewers in the world. Eighty Corporate Boxes will be available for lease for organizations and companies to host their customers during major sports events. These features will help make the Singapore Sports Hub a preferred venue for international sports and entertainment events.

8. The consortium is ready to go full throttle. "We are very happy to finally close the deal. We are ready to go full swing," said Ludwig Reichhold, Managing Director, Dragages Singapore, "In partnership with the Government of Singapore, we will bring together the strength of our consortium and ensure Singapore Sports Hub reaches its full potential to create the excitement seen in other world class venues, thereby fulfilling the project vision and objectives set by the Singapore Sports Council."

9. Under the Private-Public-Partnership (PPP) arrangement, the government will pay the consortium an annual payment (covers construction, operating and financing costs) over 25 years. The construction cost is SGD$1.33 billion, which the government does not pay upfront. The government's payment will be through annual payments.

10. The Singapore Sports Hub is the largest sports infrastructure Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) project in the world and Singapore's largest and flagship PPP project. Under the PPP model, the Consortium brings in their expertise in various aspects of the project, such as construction, financing and programming, while the government makes monthly payments to the Consortium when the facilities and services become operational and meet the contractual obligations.

For details on the project please visit http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate/en/news/media_releases/2010/SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB DEAL SIGNED.html

They shot five-under-par 67s at Burapha Golf Club in the sixth event of the season on OneAsia.

Liang is fresh from a brilliant top-10 finish in the US PGA Championship two weeks ago, Pariya narrowly lost in a play-off in the Mercedes-Benz Masters Malaysia last Saturday, whilst Stolz triumphed in a New South Wales PGA event at the weekend.

They lead by one stroke from a group of five players.

Liang, who started his round on the tenth, said : "It was an okay day. On my front nine I had a lot birdie chances but missed many putts. I was a bit tired and needed to wake up and do something, which is what I did. The back nine was far better. I like the course. Today was fine but it depends what I can do on the next three days."

The Chinese number one finished equal eighth in the US PGA Championship showing the class of a player who has won twice on OneAsia. He claimed last year's Midea China Classic and this year's season-opening Luxehills Chengdu Open, also in China.

He missed a short putt for a birdie on the first but made up for that with three birdies on the trot from the second.

Pariya, who is aged 26 and is one of the country's rising stars, lost last week's play-off on the Mercedes-Benz Tour to Singapore's Mardan Mamat, who is also playing this week.

"It was disappointing not to win last week. To lead by three going into the final day and lose felt bad but it was a learning experience. I am playing well. Don't know the secret right now but I am hitting fairways and staying out of the trouble," said Pariya, a graduate of Purdue University in America.

He moved to the top of the leaderboard by not dropping any shots on the back nine and returning in four-under-par 32.

He added: "I did not expect to play that well today. It feels great as it is every Thai's dream to play well in the National Open. I have played here a lot before in local events so I know the course well."

Stolz, one of his country's finest players before a wrist had a profound effect on his career, looked like ending the day in the lead but made a bogey on the final hole.

He has won one title on each the US PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Japan Tour plus tasted victory four times on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

However, in 2005 a nagging wrist injury caused by wear and tear forced him into retirement for nearly three years. He gradually started to play again and rejoined the Tour in Australia in 2008. Last year he won the Victorian PGA Championship.

"I have been playing good lately but I hit some ordinary shots today - the putter kept me in there. I have felt a frustrated man this year whenever I have left the golf course. I have played well the last three or four months and feel like I have been building up to something good but it hasn't happened," said 40-year-old Stolz.

He has been missing cuts on the Nationwide Tour in the United States. To regain some confidence he played in a small event in Vanuatu last week and won.

"I needed to remind myself how to win and it worked," added the Australian, who won the 2004 Michelin Championship at Las Vegas on the US PGA Tour.

Australians Matthew Millar, Brad Kennedy and Matthew Griffin, Korean Kim Tae-kyun plus Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand all shot 68.

New Zealand's Michael Hendry, winner of the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta last month, carded a 70 along with Malaysian Danny Chia, Kiradech Aphibarnrat from Thailand, Japan's Shingo Katayama and Australia's Stephen Allan.

Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant and Chawalit Plaphol along with Mamat came in with 71.

Voramate Aussarassakorn, a 16-year-old Thai, carded an impressive 69 to finish the day as the leading amateur. He recovered well after making a double bogey on the first hole.

"I was too excited on the first hole and made double bogey. I came back well. It's only the fifth time I have played in an event with professionals," said Voramate, who is part of a 10-man squad who are training for the Asian Games in China later this year.

The week's event will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available across South East Asian and domestically on ESPN Star Sports, as well as internationally on Network Ten, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

This year's Thailand Open is being co-sponsored by Singha Corporation, PTT Public Company Limited, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Emirates, and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.

Leading first round scores:
Par 72 (Thai unless stated)

67 - Liang Wenchong (CHN), Pariya Junhasavasdikul, Andre Stolz (AUS)
68 - Matthew Millar (AUS), Brad Kennedy (AUS), Matthew Griffin (AUS), Kim Tae-kyun (KOR), Pavit Tangkamolprasert
69 - Voramate Aussarassakorn (a), Ashley Hall (AUS), David Diaz (AUS), Pijit Petchkasem, Kim Jong-soo (KOR), Anthony Brown (AUS), Namchok Tantipokhakul, Panuwat Muenlek, David Brandson (AUS), Kwon Sung-youl (KOR), Mahal Pearce (NZL)

Selected:

70 - Michael Hendry (NZL), Danny Chia (MAS), Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Shingo Katayama (JPN), Stephen Allan (AUS)
71 - Thaworn Wiratchant, Thanyakon Khrongpha, Stephen Leaney (AUS), Mardan Mamat (SIN), Chawalit Plaphol
72 - Simon Yates (SCO), Terry Pilkadaris (AUS)
73 - Prom Meesawat