Global Golf Post - March 15, 2010

“The;Asian;Tour;represents;the;cream;of;the;crop
in;Asia,;and;it;is;natural;for;other;major;tours;to
wish;to;co-sanction;with;us.”;–;Kyi Hla Han
viability of the Asian Tour. These tourna-
ments are the backbone of the Asian Tour,
providing playing opportunities for our
members, and we are confident that with
continued organic growth that the prize
funds will continue to grow.

GGP;Is;it;a;good;thing;or;a;bad;thing;that;the
PGA;Tour;is;starting;to;make;inroads;into
Asia?

KH;As a member of the International Fed-
eration of PGA Tours, our goal, like that of
the other member tours, is to foster close
cooperation between tours to grow the
game, and we are happy to work with the
PGA Tour, which will benefit both tours. We
already work closely with the European Tour
and have jointly sanctioned tournaments
with the Japan Golf Tour, and the rewards
have been immense. Our players, such as
Jeev Milkha Singh, K.J. Choi, Thongchai
Jaidee, Y.E. Yang, Liang Wen-chong, Charlie
Wi and Arjun Atwal, have become world-
class players through this structure.

GGP;OK,;we’ve;hammered;you;enough;on OneAsia;and;other;potential;problems. Let’s;talk;about;the;good;things;happening on;the;Asian;Tour.;We;understand;you’re making;inroads;into;untapped;regions;in Asia;like;Cambodia.

KH;Together with the Cambodian Golf Association, the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open was inaugurated in 2008, and it will be featured for the third time on the Asian Tour later this season. Part of our mission is to help emerging nations develop golf, and we have succeeded in doing so with countries such as Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam. We hope to assist in the development of inter-national-class tournaments in countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the near future.

GGP;What;else;should;we;look;forward;to;on
the;Asian;Tour;in;2010;and;beyond?

KH;Our focus is to create more playing oppor-
tunities for our members to enhance their
careers and build champions. Last year, we
witnessed many stunning performances.
Thongchai Jaidee won an unprecedented
third Order of Merit title, while Chapchai
Nirat set a world scoring record for 72 holes
of 32-under-par 256 at the SAIL Open in
India. We’ve already seen Thongchai make
his presence felt at the WGC-Accenture
Match Play this year. We have new tourna-
ments being established in Chinese Taipei,
Malaysia and Singapore. The Myanmar Open
will also return after a four-year lapse, and
our traditional year-end events, the Iskan-
dar Johor Open, Hero Honda Indian Open,
Barclays Singapore Open and Hong Kong

www.globalgolfpost.com;MAR.;15,;2010;23

Open, will highlight the schedule.

The Asian Tour is producing a dynamic
pool of up-and-coming young players, and it
is only a matter of time before Asia pro-
duces the next global champion. At our first
event of the year, the Asian Tour Interna-
tional, a Thai amateur, Atiwit Janewattanan-
ond, made history by becoming the youngest
player to make the 36-hole cut, at the age
of 14 years and 71 days. And just last week,
18-year-old Korean Noh Seung-yul became
the youngest winner ever on the European
Tour in the co-sanctioned Asian Tour and
European Tour Maybank Malaysian Open.
It was his second victory on the Asian Tour.
Sponsor support and commercial involve-
ment is growing. New sponsor J. Lindeberg
created a line of clothing for the Asian Tour,
and Inetol is our official headwear supplier.
With the establishment of Asian Tour Televi-
sion to produce and distribute our content,
we are talking to many more sponsors with
announcements forthcoming.

GGP;Where;do;you;see;the;Asian;Tour;five;years
down;the;road?

KH;We believe the Asian Tour can grow toward
35 to 40 tournaments per year with mini-
mum prize money of $1 million per event.
I am pleased to say that even during the
difficult economy of the last 12 months we
have managed to add new tour partners,
event sponsors, tournaments and increased
prize money, which is the key to long-term
sustainability and longevity. Our players
have stood steadfastly by the Asian Tour
because they know that they are our main
focus and that I am committed to continue
growing golf in Asia for the players. l

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