The Hong Kong Open will be taken to a 'new level' with the European and Asian tours taking over as the promoters, Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said yesterday.
This year's Open at Fanling will be promoted by EurAsia Golf Ltd, a joint venture between European Tour and the Asian Tour, the tournament's co-sanctioning bodies.
Kyi Hla Han said negotiations for EurAsia Golf to promote the Hong Kong Open had gone on for six months, and the two tours were determined to improve one of the oldest and most popular tournaments on the schedule.
'Through EurAsia Golf we plan to take the tournament to a level it should be in the wider golfing world,' he said. 'With the experience we have in both tours we are confident of delivering a high-quality product that an event with such rich history as the Hong Kong Open deserves.'
EurAsia Golf will promote the event for the next three years, but Parallel Media, which took over as promoter in 2000 and ran the event until last year, will still be involved via a new contract with EurAsia Golf by helping to secure future sponsorship.
Although a title sponsor has still not been announced, a spokesman for the European Tour said that an announcement was expected soon. Industry insiders expect UBS to extend its sponsorship.
The Hong Kong Open was first co-sanctioned in 2002, and has seen its profile increase with blue-chip sponsors such as Omega and UBS providing multimillion-dollar purses, drawing some of the world's top players.
