Global Golf Post - March 15, 2010

publicly printed. We view this move by OneA-
sia as a public relations ploy to confuse the
market. Tours do not create a playing category
involving members of another tour without
discussion, consultation or agreement, and this
action shows a lack of proper structure and
protocol in the way OneAsia is doing business.

Mission Hills World Cup and WGC-HSBC
Champions in China.
GGP;Will;the;Asian;Tour;again;deny;its;members
releases;to;play;OneAsia;events;in;2010?
KH;This is a decision to be made by our
Tournament Players Committee.
GGP;What;are;the;consequences;to;those;who
cross;the;line?
KH;Once a player becomes a member of the
Asian Tour, he is required to abide by our
regulations.
not;unique;to;the;Asian;Tour;;the;PGA;Tour
has;similar;problems;keeping;its;players
at;home.;It;would;seem;a;losing;battle;to
wage;in;the;long;run.

KH;Professional golfers are individuals who
build their careers around properly struc-
tured tours and a full schedule of events.
Despite the recent challenges faced by
the Asian Tour, we will still sanction more
than twice the number of events offered by
OneAsia in 2010, representing a substan-
tially higher prize pool, and many career
opportunities that OneAsia is unable to offer.
It is normal for players to seek opportuni-
ties outside their tours, and the Asian Tour
supports this, and is able to manage this
through its release policy.

GGP;You;lost;several;strong;allies;when;OneAsia convinced;the;China;Golf;Association,;Korea PGA;and;Korea;Golf;Association,;along with;the;PGA;Tour;of;Australia,;to;support OneAsia.;And;there;are;rumors;that;another founding;partner,;the;Japan;Golf;Tour,;which remained;loyal;to;the;Asian;Tour;in;2009, may;sanction;a;OneAsia;event;in;2010.;If;it does,;how;disconcerting;would;that;be?

KH;The Japan Tour has indicated it will remain neutral in the OneAsia issue. It has previously stated publicly that it would not be involved with OneAsia without the involvement of the Asian Tour, which is the correct protocol, and we don’t foresee this changing. We also continue to sanction the Ballantines Championship in Korea and the Omega

Reigning PGA Championship titleholder Y.E. Yang (with Han), honed his professional skills on the Asian Tour.

GGP ;Still,;players;have;found;loopholes.;Thong-chai;Jaidee;played;in;the;Volvo;China;Open, a;co-sanctioned;OneAsia-European;Tour event;as;a;European;Tour;member,;and players;are;free;to;enter;OneAsia;events staged;in;their;home;country.;Is;there;any-thing;that;you;can;do;to;prevent;that?

KH;It is stated in our Members Handbook and
Regulations that a release can be granted to
our players if the event is held in their home
country or if they qualify through the Euro-
pean Tour. Our Tournament Players Com-
mittee followed closely this guideline last
year. These are not loopholes, but guidelines
designed to clarify players’ rights and protect
their careers on the Asian Tour.

GGP;Isn’t;it;the;way;of;any;sport;that;players
will;always;follow;the;money?;It’s;certainly

GGP;You;have;termed;OneAsia’s;activities;in;the region;as;“unethical,”;but;isn’t;it;following the;same;blueprint;–;gaining;rights;to;the national;championships;of;countries;–;that the;forerunner;to;the;Asian;Tour,;the;APGA Tour,;used;in;the;mid-1990s;to;get;estab- lished;and;which;you;were;a;big;part;of.;If not,;what’s;the;difference?

KH;As I said earlier, the structure of the Asian
Tour is different from the previous Asian
PGA Tour, whose commercial and marketing
rights were managed by a sports marketing
company. This company underwrote a major-
ity of events that did not prove to be sus-
tainable, and decisions were made that the
players did not feel were in their best inter-
est, hence the breakaway in 2003. The Asian
Tour, which is a player-led organization, is
structured so the playing field is level and all
sports marketing companies are welcome to
bring tournaments onto the Asian Tour plat-
form through standard sanctioning terms.

GGP ;Zhan;Xiaoning,;head;of;the;China;Golf;Asso-ciation,;has;been;critical;of;the;Asian;Tour. He;has;said;in;the;15;years;of;being;aligned with;the;Asian;Tour,;he;saw;no;benefits,;no increase;in;prize;money;or;playing;oppor-tunities;for;Chinese;players.;How;does;the Asian;Tour;go;about;strengthening;its;re-lationship;with;the;CGA;now;that;it;backs OneAsia?;Can;the;Asian;Tour;survive without;China?