appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

The Asian PGA's Omega Tour plans to increase its number of tournaments next year to at least 25 with a new event in the Philippines and two in China.

  The Centennial Cup in the Philippines in November will become part of the tour in an event sponsored by sports management group IMG. The group represents Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and more than one- third of the top 30 players in the world rankings. IMG's participation virtually assures the appearance of top players.

 Two, as yet, unnamed tournaments in the Volvo China Tour will join the Omega Tour, creating a mini-China loop with the existing Volvo China Open. This season, the Volvo China Open in Beijing was the only mainland event in the Omega Tour of Merit.

 Tony Morgan, managing director of the Asian PGA Tour, said he was negotiating with about six other groups regarding new tournaments or existing tournaments joining the tour.

  This season, the three-year- old tour comprised 23 tournaments (there were 22 in 1996 and 18 in 1995) in 16 countries with a total of US$8 million in prize money.

  'Traditionally, we have grown two or three tournaments a year. The major way for the tour to grow would be for all the national opens to join in and be part of the Order of Merit,' Mr Morgan said.

  The Omega circuit includes the national opens of Singapore, Vietnam, Burma, China and Indonesia as part of its regular circuit but without high profile events like last week's Hong Kong Open or the Asia- Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) opens in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

  'I've been talking to them [the APGC] for months. We're trying hard behind the scenes to pull everything together and, if nothing else, to present one Asian golf calendar with no tournament clashes. There is no doubt it would be in the best interests of players as it's their careers we're dealing with,' he said.

  'We're talking to Hong Kong and three or four other opens with a view to them joining us. We could, quite feasibly, be a 30-tournament tour next year if they collectively make a decision to join in.'    One tournament which will not be back is the Honda Classic which provided the Omega Tour with a massive amount of exposure when the then soon- to-be Masters champion Tiger Woods destroyed the field with a 10-stroke victory in Thailand.

  Mr Morgan said Honda had reduced its operation in Thailand and did not feel it was appropriate to continue with the tournament given the country's economic climate.

  He said the tour could raise its prize money to more than US$10 million if the APGC became involved and that it was close to reaching some sort of agreement.

  'Realistically, if we can reach a 10 per cent increase in prize money when most of the currencies in the region have devalued about 30 to 40 per cent against the US dollar, then we will have done a good job for the players.'  Mr Morgan said the APGA was also hoping to be accepted into the World Federation of PGA Tours, the governing body made up of five PGA Tours. 'They told us they like what we're doing so, hopefully, it won't be long.' WIDENING THE COMPETITION Top sponsor can assure presence of big names 30-tournament tour next year if talks succeed Officials aim to present single Asian golf calendar Thai fiscal woes mean farewell to Honda Classic 



Extra tournaments to lure game's world-class players