Ten and growing stronger

The Asian Tour promotes both budding players and the business of golf

The Asian PGA Tour turns 10 this year. Strictly speaking the 2004 season began in December itself, when the Asian PGA and the Japanese PGA had their only co-sanctioned event, the Okinawa Open, but that event saw the participation of players, qualified for the 2003 Asian PGA Tour.

So in some senses, the "real" 2004 season gets underway with the Asian PGA Qualifying School, held in two stages and then the full field event, the 2004 Thailand Open.

The first 10 years of Asian PGA have brought about a dramatic upsurge in the game in Asia. Asian players have grown in stature and many of them can hold their own against the very best in the world, and are now recognised as potential champions.

This week at the Palm Resort in Johor Baru there are nearly 140 players, who are hoping to take the same Asian route to their bigger dreams, as they play in the first stage of the Asian PGA Qualifying School.

The top 40 from here will join 100-odd others, coming in from various categories and then they will all come together for the final stage of Asian Q-School and vie for 40 spots available on the main Asian PGA Tour.

Most players queuing up to play the Asian PGA School, at least those in the first stage, are upcoming players from Australia, Korea, Taiwan and some even from collegiate golf in the US and England.

The Asian Tour prepares them for the bigger rigours and also gives them a chance to play a well-structured tour and wins here count for more than ever before, both in terms of money and exemptions on bigger tours.

Within this group are nearly a dozen Indians. They all see this as the first step in the journey that has carried the likes of Atwal, Randhawa and Jeev Milkha to greater peaks.

For many years before the current Asian PGA Tour was formed, there was a loosely-structured Asian Tour, essentially a series of National Opens strung together.

While Asians did play on it, the tour served either as a fallback or a launching pad for many from the US and Europe. While waiting to make it to the US PGA Tour, many played in Asia, combining some professional work (golf) alongside travelling and savouring Asia as a tourist spot.

Major champions, such as Peter Thompson, the late Payne Stewart (winner of the Indian Open once), David Carter, Brian Watts and others have all played in India.

Others unable to make it on the bigger US and European Tours stayed on in Asia to make a living from pro golf, playing and teaching at clubs.

A few years back when the International Association for World's Golf Tours recognised the Asian PGA it was a significant step for the fledgling tour.

Then came the co-sanctioned events with Europe "" and now one each with Australasia and Japan "" and that brought world stars to Asian courses.

The Hong Kong Open, the Malaysian Open, the Singapore Masters are among the big co-sanctioned events and more could be on the way, as Europe seeks to expand its tour and take it to newer places.

As far as the players are concerned, they are being wooed with substantial appearance fees. There are US PGA stars like John Daly and Sergio Garcia , who have huge drawcards in Asia; Tiger Woods, himself, has played in the tri-sanctioned Johnnie Walker Classic.

With the advent of European PGA events in Asia, players like Nick Faldo, six time Major winner, Ian Woosnam, Colin Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington frequently play in Asia.

There is also a growing market for golf in Asia, which is attracting sponsors, golf course developers and even players like Faldo, who at this stage of their career are now combining course designing with some playing. Markets like China, India, Thailand, Malaysia and even Philippines are looking at designer courses.

These ought to be seen alongside the saturation levels that European and US markets are reaching in terms of golf investments. Also with more than half of world's population in Asia, it increases the scope of the game in these parts.

There is also the growing stature of the Asian golfer, which has added to the credibility of the game in Asia. All these factors put together make for a heady cocktail, which is only becoming more and more exciting.

Fijian Vijay Singh learnt some of his early golf in Malaysia went to the US way back and rose to become one of the greatest players of our times.

But that was much before the current Asian PGA Tour came into being. The first Asian to take the route of this APGA Tour and strike it big on the world scene has been K J Choi of Korea. He was among those who played in Asia when the Tour began.

Currently ranked No 19 in the world, he has won both in US and Europe and now has his eyes set on winning a Major.

There is also Shigeyuki Maryuama of Japan, but most of his early golf was on the Japanese Tour and now with two wins in the US, he is well established. Japan has always been way ahead of the rest of Asia.

India's Atwal, twice winner in joint-sanctioned events between Asia and Europe, along with two other Asian Tour graduates, Daniel Chopra and Kevin Na, have graduated to the biggest of all platforms, the US PGA Tour.

The likes of China's Zhang Lian Wei and Taiwanese Yeh Wei Tze and Lin Keng Chi, Jyoti Randhawa and more recently Thais like Prayad Marksaeng have begun getting noticed on the highly competitive Japanese circuit.

India's Jeev Milkha Singh, considered by many in Asia, as among the first to get noticed outside Asia, as he qualified for both European and Japanese PGA Tours before others, has not quite matched up to his early success, but then at 31, he still has a lot of golf ahead of him.

So, the matter of many budding golfers battling it out this and next week for the final 40 spots on the Asian PGA tour, is not just another event, but a part of a lager phenomenon "" the coming of age of golf in Asia.

Time is not far, when an Asian PGA graduate will go on to win a Major, and alongside the business of golf, too, is set to reach new heights.