IN his welcoming message in the programme to last week's US$500,000 Omega PGA Championship at Clearwater Bay, Supphaphorn Maphunghong proudly reflected on the momentous achievements of the fledgling circuit.
'Despite many predictions to the contrary, the Asian PGA has succeeded in creating a professional circuit that offers Asian players the same benefits that are available on other tours around the world,' stated the Thai chairman of the Asian PGA.
'They can now play tournament golf on a regular basis all across the region, thus having access to greater prize money and opportunities to improve their levels of skill and competitiveness. In short, the Asian PGA has achieved in less than a year what Asian golf has been crying out for since the 1960s.' It would, of course, be easy to dismiss Supphaphorn's comments as pure propaganda. After all, given such a platform, what else would you expect him to say? But, as the curtain comes down on the Asian PGA Tour's inaugural season, few true followers of golf in the region would dispute his claims.
For not only has the circuit surpassed expectations in terms of providing opportunities for Asian professionals, but also in helping to promote the game across the region - through the Tour's link with STAR TV and via their well-oiled PR machine who have kept media organisations around the world fed with a constant stream of facts, figures and information.
Indeed, it is doubtful whether any professional tour in the history of the game has achieved quite so much in such a short time.
To get where they are today, though, has not been easy. Problems have been many and varied, not least in the conflicts with rival tours and promoters or in the unsuccessful attempts to persuade the PGAs of Malaysia and Indonesia to join up.
But with the dust settling on their first season, even those who predicted the venture would never get off the ground have been forced to accept that the APGA and the Omega Tour are here to stay.