Asia increasingly a magnet for world professional golf

By Rahul Banerji

Asia continues to grow and flourish in the climate of top-notch professional golf.

For one, Asian players are claiming greater space on the world stage with Shubhankar Sharma’s European Tour rookie success being the latest example,

Alongside, the continent itself is becoming something of a magnet for serious golf.

This week, the Honma Hong Kong Open gets under way as the first event of the European Tour’s new season.

Quality field

In the field are Masters champion Patrick Reed, Race to Dubai runner-up Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Rafa Cabrera Bello and defending champion Miguel Angel Jiminez.

Also is in the mix is European Tour Rookie of the Year Shubhankar Sharma and maiden Asian Tour winner Khalin Joshi.

Incidentally, the Open is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event.

Along with the Masters at Augusta National and the Omega European Masters at Crans-Montana, it is the only professional tournament held at the same venue for more than 55 consecutive years. 

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf tees off as well with 56 top professionals from around the world vying for a massive prize purse and more importantly, national pride.

India are being represented by Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar.

Next week Thailand will play host to the Queens Cup with a full field of 132 that includes former Hero Indian Open winners S.S.P. Chawrasia and Shiv Kapur.

Defending champion Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand, who sealed his second Asian Tour victory and a first on home soil in July, is in the 132-strong field.

The 11th edition of the Queen’s Cup will be the Asian Tour’s fourth stop in Thailand this season.

New event

On the tournament side, the US PGA Tour already has three events in its Asia Swing while the European Tour is increasingly signing up for events co-sanctioned with its continental counterpart here.

The most recent development is a six-year deal for the $9.75 million Zozo Championship in Japan that will become part of the Asia Swing.

The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in South Korea and the WGC-HSBC Champions event in China are already on the PGA Tour calendar while the Maybank Championship in Malaysia makes way for the Japan event.

The field will have 78 professionals, including 60 available players from the previous season’s FedEx Cup points list, 10 designated by the Japan Tour and eight special exemptions. 

‘Good news’

Welcoming the development, Anirban Lahiri said, “I think it’s very exciting and it’s a good development. I think Japan is definitely one of the countries in Asia which is huge on golf.”

“They (the Japanese) love their golf, they love their golfers and they follow the PGA Tour a lot and it’s something that was bound to happen as Japan is one of the biggest markets for the game in the world.

“I am really excited, it’s great. I love the food, I love the culture there and the people are amongst some of the nicest you’ll find and you’ve got some of the best golf fans in the world in Japan.

“You’ll see huge galleries, you will see a lot of respect not just for the Asian and Japanese players but also for all the players. It’s just a treat to play golf in Japan.”

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