Filed under: PGA, European Tour
The focus of the golf world shifts to Asia with the first of two high-profile tournaments taking place on the growing golf continent this week. While the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic in Malaysia might not have any bearing on the 2010 season, the significance of this week goes beyond money lists or standings. The globalization of the game will be on full display at the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in Southeast Asia.
The event, which is also sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia, only consists of a 40-player field, but it will be filled with some of the top international players in the sport. The invitation-only tournament is made up of the top 25 players from the PGA Tour's final FedExCup standings, top 10 players from the current Asian Tour Order of Merit and five players under sponsor's exemption.
The strength of the play from the Far East is evident by the players represented this week. Y.E. Yang, the continent's only major winner, and K.J. Choi, a seven-time PGA Tour winner pictured above, are the most familiar names to American fans, but keep an eye on Noh Seung-Yul. The 19-year-old leads the Asian Tour in earnings, scoring average and birdie average. The common theme from each of them has been the importance of this event and what it means in furthering the development of Asian golf.
"This is definitely a good idea and to have the PGA Tour partner with the Asian Tour and the Asian Tour partner the PGA Tour. It reflects how much the Asian Tour has made big strides for golf in Asia," Yang said. "This being a benchmark event, hopefully the same type of events can spread and proliferate themselves around Asia."
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Source: http://golf.fanhouse.com/2010/10/27/pga-tour-taps-into-asian-market-with-cimb-asia-pacific-classic/
No comments:
Post a Comment