'Good times lie ahead' for ailing Asian Tour
Chief executive Mike Kerr admits regional circus is facing challenges in the short term, but he insists solutions are in the pipeline
Better times are around the corner for regional golf after a lull in fortunes left some players struggling to make a living, Asian Tour chief executive Mike Kerr insists.
Kerr also opened the door for the first time to the possibility of discussions at some point in the future with its rival regional tour, OneAsia, about some form of alliance.
He admitted it was a "challenging" time for Asian golf with sponsors hard to find and only seven confirmed stroke play events on this year's Asian Tour schedule so far.
I don't think that anything is off the table. There are two fundamental issues, one is TV rights and the other is structure
But Kerr said the Asian Tour was about to announce another four tournaments for the coming months and hoped to have a total of 25 by the end of the year, the same as last season.
Kerr's comments came after golfers at last week's Championship in Singapore voiced unhappiness at a shortage of playing opportunities.
"I can understand some of the frustrations that they may have at this point," Kerr said at the Asian Tour's headquarters in Singapore.
"There have been some external factors that have meant that maybe our ability to announce events has been somewhat restricted.