THE newly formed Asian Professional Golfers Association (APGA) has expressed disappointment at the decision of Hong Kong Open organisers to bring the tournament forward by two weeks, with one official describing it as a 'panic move'.
The US$300,000 Hong Kong Open, part of the Asian Tour, has been switched from the end of November to the 16th of the month to immediately follow the star-studded World Cup of Golf in Shenzhen, in the hope of attracting more world-class players.
But Asian Tour rivals the APGA said it was surprised by the move, especially as the tournament would now clash with three other big-money golf tournaments in the world, as well as the highly-popular Macau Grand Prix.
The Hong Kong Open will also clash with the Pakistan Masters, which is part of the APGA Tour.
APGA executive chairman Ramlan Harun said: 'The APGA schedule was finalised several months ago following lengthy discussions with the Asian Tour to avoid any clashes with national Opens. We have always offered to work alongside, rather than against, the Asian Tour, and we now have two golf tournaments being staged in Asia during the same week.
'As a body set up to support the interests of Asia's professional golfers, the APGA will be consulting its members to finalise a course of action given the conflict of dates.' One APGA spokesman said: 'It seems like a panic move. It is strange that they want to hold the tournament when, on the same week, there is a US$2.4 million tournament in Japan, the Australian PGA Championship and the Shark Shootout. The Hong Kong Open would also have to fight for media coverage against the Macau Grand Prix, which is very popular in the region.