Ballantine’s stars celebrate true character

Icheon, South Korea: Reigning British Open Champion Darren Clarke is one of five leading international golfers featured in a new campaign from Ballantine’s – ‘True character leaves a lasting impression.’

Ballantine’s, the number one ultra-premium whisky in Asia-Pacific, is launching this initiative ahead of the 2012 Ballantine’s Championship in Korea to explore the importance of character in golf.

Clarke, along with leading American Dustin Johnson, two times Ryder Cup winner  Ian Poulter, Asia’s first Major winner Korean YE Yang and KT Kim, a rising star and the first Korean player to win the Japan Tour all feature in the True Character campaign.  The players reflect on moments in the game when the real personality of golfers past and present is revealed, the moments that make them stand out as legends of the game.

The five will go head to head in this year’s Ballantine’s Championship at the Blackstone Resort in Icheon, near Seoul, from April 26 to 29.

“I think character in the game of golf influences exactly how a golfer plays,” said Poulter, who plays in his second successive Ballantine’s Championship this year. “You can pick up on someone’s character by the way they deal with certain situations and play certain shots.”

Rory McIlroy’s US Open win just two months after his spectacular collapse in the 2011 Masters was highlighted by most as an example of when true character was shown in the game. “He came out straight away, bounced back, and totally dominated the US Open,” said Clarke. “It takes a special kind of person, a special kind of talent, and a special kind of character to be able to do that.”

The True Character campaign includes video interviews and exclusive footage of all five players, along with striking photography.

The campaign will continue in the lead-up to and through the course of the Ballantine’s Championship, when it will provide analysis online of some of the four days of competition.

The Ballantine’s Championship is Korea’s biggest golf event and attracts top-class players from all over the world. Previous winners include current US Open champion Graeme McDowell, and former world number one Lee Westwood.