Asian Tour breaks new ground in Scotland, eyes America next, as it leaves DP World Tour partnership in past
- International Series stop in St Andrews opens up a new frontier for the Asian Tour, and officials say they are already discussing a US event
- Globalisation has always been a part of the plan, and officials believe co-sanctioned events are no longer necessary
The Asian Tour breaks new ground at the St Andrews Bay Championship in Scotland on Thursday, the latest step in its push to be a major player on the world stage.
Little more than 18 months into an initial five-year plan, the organisation has already taken its International Series to the Middle East, across Asia and Australasia, Africa and now into Europe.
This week will be the first time it stages an event in the home of golf, and if its two top officials are correct, there are stops in North, South and Central America to come.
With any country a potential destination, its globalisation beyond what Rahul Singh, the head of the series, called “it’s natural boundaries” is no longer the pipe dream it once seemed.
“One of the most exciting things is that a number of countries that have not necessarily been part of any conversation with the Asian Tour are in touch with us,” Singh said. “People who are reaching out to us to say, how do we get an International Series event to our country?”
Challenging its more established rivals on home soil would have been unthinkable before the influx of Saudi Arabian money into the sport, and Rahul acknowledged it made the Asian Tour “completely different to where we were”.