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IRS Prima breaks silence, will honour contract with Malaysian Golf Association until 2026

IRS Prima Holdings, the title sponsor of this year’s Malaysian Open, says it will sort out its banking issues and release the sponsorship money to the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) next week.

It also said it has no intention of breaking its three-deal deal with MGA and has big plans for the sport beyond 2026.

“For a long time, IRS Prima Holdings was keen on exploring an investment in major golf events. When presented with the opportunity to be the title sponsor for the Malaysian Open, we seized it,” a company spokesman told Twentytwo13.

“We believe this sporting platform will help our company engage with our business partners and customers in Malaysia and internationally.”

Asked when it would release the sponsorship money, the spokesman said: “We have been working tirelessly and diligently since January for the release of the funds.

“Unfortunately, due to unexpected technical issues, this has regrettably resulted in an unforeseen delay from the bank.

“We had hoped the bank would release the payment before Hari Raya. Nevertheless, we assure all parties involved that we are making every effort to hasten the process with the bank to avoid any further inconvenience.”

The spokesman said the company has every intention of honouring its three-year deal with MGA. He added that the company hoped to remain in the sport beyond 2026.

“We have a contract in place and will honour it for the next two years with a possibility of extending it further,” he said,

“We will announce further details and plans going forward with the Malaysian Open sponsorship and IRS Prima’s involvement in golf after the Hari Raya festival.”

The Malaysian Open was held at The Mines Resort and Golf Club from Feb 15-18 and offered US$1 million in prize money.

One of the region’s oldest national Opens, the tournament struggled to find sponsors from 2016 and 2019. It returned in 2020 but was on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During MGA’s executive council meeting on March 27, an insider disclosed that the association and several vendors had yet to receive payment.

Ervin Chang, a professional golfer from Malaysia, confirmed receiving a letter from the Asian Tour stating that players would receive their prize money in April.