And in women ' s professional golf the sentiment is much the same . ISPS Handa continues to be the title sponsor of The ISPS Handa Women ’ s Australian Open and also for a number of years was the title sponsor the ISPS Handa Women ’ s New Zealand Open . ALPG Executive Director Karen Lunn has acknowledged the importance of the incessant support Dr Handa has given to tournaments over the years .
“ Every professional golfer and follower of golf in Australasia owes Dr Handa a huge debt of gratitude for what he has done for professional golf in our region ,” Lunn said .
Back in 2013 Lunn publicly expressed her gratitude to the ISPS organisation for their support of the 2013 New Zealand Women ’ s Open event , and emphasised the significant impact it had on the people of Christchurch after the devastating earthquake in 2011 that left the city in ruins .
“ We are very thankful for the support of Dr Handa . With a natural disaster like Christchurch suffered it is amazing that the tournament still went ahead at all but the fact that it has kept the co-sanction status is a great achievement ,” she said .
“ It is important to have tournaments in this part of the world of this calibre and the higher standard of the European Players makes it a truly international event . It is important for the people of Christchurch because it gives them something to look forward and hopefully something to lift the morale ,” Lunn added .
Early this year New Zealand ’ s former Prime Minister John Key and women ’ s world number one Lydia Ko became the newest charity ambassadors for ISPS HANDA . Between the years 2008 to 2016 when Key served as prime minister , he witnessed ISPS HANDA ’ s charity work at the Women ’ s Open , where Lydia Ko was also the tournament ambassador .
“ ISPS HANDA do an incredible job of supporting golf worldwide and I ’ ve had a lot of fun playing at their event over the years ,” said Ko . “ I ’ m excited to be part of the global ambassador team and I look forward to representing its brand on Tour .”
And that ’ s how Dr Handa rolls . An avid golfer himself , Dr Handa gives his support out of love for the game , and what it does for people . He describes his doings as driven by a " firm belief in the power of sport ."
" Sport has a unique ability to create hope , to break down educational and cultural barriers and to inspire people in a unique way ," he said . " Sport brings people together and unites communities around the world ." Playing golf off a handicap of 12 , and every so often in the company of the Prime Minister of Cambodia , Hun Sen , Dr Handa has described golf as “ a wonderful sport , a gentleman ’ s sport ,”
“ A good golfer , a bad golfer and ordinary golfer can enjoy it the same way using the handicap system . You don ’ t always beat the opponent , you are challenged by yourself .’’
Supporting the global golf industry for over 25 years , the ISPS organisation ’ s main objective is to provide opportunities for blind and disabled golfers worldwide , and for golf to become a Paralympic sport . Being an honorary Australian , Dr Handa was inspired on a trip to Perth , playing golf alongside Australia ’ s best-known blind golfer , Ron Andersson , to support projects for the blind and to get involved with blind golf .
He established the Japanese Blind Golf Association in 1988 and was the driving force behind the formation of the International Blind Golf Association ( IBGA ) in the same year . Nowadays , the IBGA is the governing and sanctioning body for international blind golf events , and is functioning to coordinate the efforts of blind golf associations around the world .