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Heeding calls from the country’s professional golfers to hold more tournaments, the Indonesian Pro Golf Federation announced its two-stop Ancora Pro Series on Monday.

“We need more tournaments so Indonesian golfers can develop their game and become more competitive on the world stage,” federation chief Nursalam A. Tabusalla said. “We hope that with this series, more sponsors will come to help develop golf here.”

The first series will take place on May 25-29 at Gading Raya Golf Course in Banten, with the second series scheduled for June at a time and place yet to be announced.

The federation (PGPI) and promoter Ancora Sports, which have signed a three-year contract, plan to expand the tournament to four series next year. Each of the events in the inaugural season will offer a Rp 150 million cash purse.

Top Indonesian golfers such as Andik Mauludin, Ilyasyak, Junaidi Ibrahim and Maan Nasim have registered for the new venture. But Rory Hie, the country’s best player, will miss the two tournaments as his schedule will keep him in Europe.

The series, Nursalam said, would also serve as a good warm-up for the $400,000 Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational. It will be held on July 23-26 at Damai Indah Golf Course in Kapuk, North Jakarta.

Meanwhile, preliminary rounds for the 2009 Mercedes Trophy, an annual amateur tournament for Mercedes owners, will run from May 26 to June 18 in Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan. The early rounds will select 60 players for the country final.

The Indonesian final takes place on June 24 at the Royale Jakarta Golf Course, with the top seven players advancing to the Asian final at Sanctuary Cove Golf Course in Gold Coast, Australia, on Aug. 19-21. If they do well enough in the regional final, they will advance to the world final in Germany, on Sept. 24-25. Yuslia Hadi, the 2008 Indonesian Ladies Flight champion, reached the world final in Stuttgart.