Asian Tour enters second half of season on a high

The second half of the Asian Tour season resumes this week with the Worldwide Selangor Masters heralding an exciting push towards a record-breaking season.

This week's RM1 million (US$310,000) event, headlined by two-time Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee, begins at Seri Selangor Golf Club from Wednesday and will mark an exciting run of 15 tournaments to be played from now until December.

By the time the last putt drops at the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok four days before Christmas, the region's talented players would have competed in an unprecedented 29 tournaments for an all-time record of over US$38 million in total prize money this season.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han is predicting an exciting five months ahead for golf in the region. While many lucrative world-class tournaments will be showcased, Han said that the race for the coveted Order of Merit crown will also very much be the centre of attention.

"The second half of the Asian Tour season promises to be an exciting period for professional golf in Asia. There will be plenty to play for with many world-class tournaments like the HSBC Champions, Barclays Singapore Open, UBS Hong Kong Open and Volvo Masters of Asia lined up towards the end of the season," said Han today.

"We are also delighted that two new events will make their debut on our burgeoning schedule which are this week's Worldwide Selangor Masters and the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open in Japan in September.

"The continued growth of professional golf will see the Asian Tour hitting a new record in terms of tournaments played and prize money offered and we are extremely pleased with how our 2008 season has unfolded."

Over the next five months, the Asian Tour will travel to destinations including Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Thailand which Han said was a wonderful reflection of how the game was growing across the region.

Following the conclusion of the Worldwide Selangor Masters, the Tour heads to Borneo for the fourth edition of the Brunei Open with Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang defending his title. Filipino Juvic Pagunsan will then defend his Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational title in Jakarta at the end of August.

The popular Mercuries Taiwan Masters and the inaugural Panasonic Open, jointly sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour, will feature in September before the Tour embarks on a frantic finish.

The Kolon-Hana Bank Korea Open, Hero Honda Indian Open, Midea China Classic and Macau Open will occupy the month of October while the HSBC Champions, Barclays Singapore Open, both US$5 million events, will be played in November, followed by the UBS Hong Kong Open, which offers US$2.25 million.

The Hana Bank Vietnam Masters will return for its second edition, as with the Cambodian Open in December before the Tour's top-65 players converge for the season-finale, the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok from December 18 to 21.

Some of the game's biggest names including world number two Phil Mickelson and US Masters winner Trevor Immelman will also be gracing the fairways in Asia.

Han said: "The ultimate highlight to the season will be the crowning of the Asian Tour's new number one player. The race for the prestigious Order of Merit crown will certainly gather pace over the next few months as the challengers to the throne chase down the current leader Mark Brown.

"In between our Tour events, Asia's players will also look forward to compete in the Fortis International Challenge in Malaysia where they will play for three tickets to the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in November. It certainly will be a exciting period for Asia over the next few months."

Brown, winner of the SAIL Open and Johnnie Walker Classic in February, currently leads the race for the merit title with winnings of US$651,093, followed by India's Jeev Milkha Singh (US$540,694) in second place and S.S.P. Chowrasia (US$439,930) in third position.