OneAsia chiefs vowed yesterday to make the sport more hip and fashionable, as an early bird caught the worm on the first day of the US$3 million Volvo China Open.
'We are looking for the next 'wow factor',' said new OneAsia secretary general Tenniel Chu, who is vice-chairman at Mission Hills Golf Club. 'Maybe we will bring in K-pop and Chinese pop stars and make the game more marketable and attractive.
'At Mission Hills we have experience in doing things that have never been done before,' he said, referring to their latest initiative, the World Celebrity Pro-Am, which will be played in Haikou in October.
Chu joined forces with OneAsia, set up four years ago by Chinese, Korean and Australian golfing bodies, as he believed they had the best platform to grow the game in the region.
'OneAsia is the most lucrative tour in the Asia-Pacific, with 14 tournaments and purses of over US$1 million,' Chu said. 'We have a tremendous platform from which to grow the game and attract sponsors.
'At the moment we co-sanction events, like this week's Volvo China Open, with the European Tour, but one day I'm sure we will have players knocking on our door from all around the world.'
The rival Asian Tour, which has fought a bitter battle with OneAsia for control of the game, has long accused the latter of stealing its tournaments and not creating any new opportunities for players.