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https://scmp.com/sport/golf/article/3209180/asian-tour-hong-kong-macau-and-shenzhen-all-frame-international-series-events-part-china-push
Sport/ Golf

Asian Tour: Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen all in frame for International Series events as part of China push

  • Greater Bay Area push comes as tour boss reveals China Golf Association has opened talks about renewing partnership
  • Hong Kong will host 2 tournaments this year, with newly named World City Championship first in March
The Hong Kong Open is likely to return to the city in November for the first time since Australian Wade Ormsby won the tournament in January, 2020. Photo: Dickson Lee

The Asian Tour’s expansion of its flagship International Series is likely to include a trio of events in the Greater Bay Area, with Hong Kong, Macau and potentially Shenzhen all hosting stops.

With 10 tournaments already on this year’s schedule, officials have discussed making the Hong Kong Open in either November or December part of the series, where events typically have US$2 million in prize money, as they eye eventually reaching a 25-stop calendar.

And Cho Minn Thant, the tour’s CEO and commissioner, revealed the China Golf Association had approached his organisation about the possibility of working with the tour again.

The return of tournaments in Macau, and Shenzhen, which has seen the Volvo China Open and Shenzhen International played at the Genzon Golf Club, would add another two high-profile cities to the series, which starts next week in Oman before going on to Qatar.

“China has just opened up again, and very recently they’ve reached out to the Asian Tour and said they’d like to work together with us again,” Cho said.

“Obviously we’re going to concentrate on building the areas around Hong Kong as well. We haven’t been to Macau in a few years, we haven’t been to China for a few years because of Covid.

“If we can build that triangle of events, where we have Hong Kong, we get Macau back and we potentially get something in Southern China, that would be great for us.”

Scott Hend (left) the 2013 and 2015 Macao Open winner and defending champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert hit ceremonial tee shots at the 2017 Macao Open. Photo: Handout
Scott Hend (left) the 2013 and 2015 Macao Open winner and defending champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert hit ceremonial tee shots at the 2017 Macao Open. Photo: Handout

After the height of the coronavirus pandemic brought the tour to halt, it has undergone rapid growth over the past year or so, in no small part because of the partnership with LIV Golf.

Acknowledging the “massive turnaround”, Cho said the amount of prize money on offer, which will reach US$2.5 million in Qatar, was “really something we haven’t seen in the Asian Tour”.

“So, we’re looking forward to growing from there,” he added. “If we can get to 25 events, US$2 million-plus of [prize money] that’s a great tour to play on.”

Hong Kong Golf Club is expected to host two tournaments over the next 10 months, with the newly named World City Championship the first of those in March.

It will be the first tour event in the city for more than three years, and Cho said the players were excited to be returning for the first time since Wade Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open in January 2020, just before Covid hit.

“It’s always been a mainstay on our tour and one of the most popular tournaments on the schedule, the new event in March and hopefully the Hong Kong Open again in November or December will be fantastic,” Cho said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever gone to Hong Kong more than once in a year, so it’s a bonus to potentially have two events.”

Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of the PIF Saudi International. Photo: Asian Tour.
Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of the PIF Saudi International. Photo: Asian Tour.

Raising the profile of the second of those, plus renewing the tour’s presence in China sets the region up to become the latest battleground for dominance between the three main tours.

While the PGA Tour has muscled its way into South Korea, Japan and India through agreements that force the exclusion of the Asian Tour, Cho said he believed China was “big enough and mature enough to realise that there is more than one platform for their players to go and play”.

The tour CEO pointed to the likes of Bai Zhengkai and Ye Wocheng who both earned their cards at last month’s final qualifying stage of Q-school, as examples of Chinese players on tour.

With Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung and Chinese amateur Ding Wenyi competing at this week’s PIF Saudi International, and with Taichi Kho also on the tour, Cho said China officials “obviously see the Asian Tour as a good tour to belong to”.

Unlike the PGA Tour, which has banned LIV players from competing, and has only allowed Cameron Young to play at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club on an exemption, Cho has a more relaxed approach.

“There is room for more than just one tour,” Cho said. “There are different paths, and we’re happy if some come and play our tour and no hard feelings if they go and play another tour.”

The growing partnership between the American and European tours makes the Asian organisation something of an outlier, but the partnership with LIV has amounted to a cash injection of around US$300 million and a degree of independence that makes an alliance less necessary than previously.

“We’re very much independent now, and to the bulk of our membership that’s absolutely fine,” Cho said. “They’re playing for more money, they’re playing in new destinations, we’re a strong tour and there is a future playing on the Asian Tour, you don’t necessarily have to progress your career by going overseas.

“For the players to be able to play a full season for decent money, where keeping your card in the top 60 earns you, I’m plucking a number out of my head, US$200,000 a year, that’s a pretty good living for guys pushing a white ball around.”