OneAsia remains ambitious
Source: Agencies |
April 1, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
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THE OneAsia Tour's second season tees off at the Chengdu Open today but the 10 tournaments confirmed for this year - up from five last year - are just the start of a bid to shift the balance of power in world golf, according to chief executive Ben Sellenger.
"Ultimately, we dream of the day when a player can play full time in Asia and be the No. 1 golfer in the world. That vision is at the core of what OneAsia is, and it is achievable," the Australian said.
The plan calls for 17-20 events with a minimum purse of US$1 million across nine countries for 2011, which would, Sellenger said, "clearly mark" OneAsia as the "third force" in world golf alongside the US PGA and European tours.
"The first steps need to be creating a platform that is commensurate with Europe, that has the events, that has the prize money, that has the points," Sellenger said.
"The next step is then to take that long journey which is to step up to the level of the US PGA.
"Somewhere along that pathway ... I would hope that our platform would have the strength that a player, save for the odd major, could gain that number one stature playing in Asia.
"Looking at the region, looking at the partners, looking at the economies, it's almost not if it's going to happen but when it's going to happen."
Sellenger's aim would clearly be for that player to hail from the Asia-Pacific region.
OneAsia, a project driven by the Australian PGA along with the Chinese and South Korean governing bodies, had a difficult start last year due to the hostility of the Asian Tour, which views itself as the standard bearer of golf in the region.
Asian Tour chief Kyi Hla Han accused them of being "Australian invaders" who "cannibalized" existing events and players from his tour who played in OneAsia events were punished.
"What you read in the press doesn't reflect the discussions that we have behind closed doors," said Sellenger. "Having said that, there clearly hasn't been a meeting of the minds that we're going to co-exist."
Sellenger is keen, therefore, to stress that the ambition of OneAsia is to "complement" the existing structure in the Asia-Pacific.
"Existing tours in Asia-Pacific continue to be extremely successful in identifying and developing leading golfers," he said. "OneAsia is about working with the existing Tours to create an elite next step. A platform that ensures Asia can retain the best talent right here, for Asian audiences."
The 10 tournaments this year will be played in four countries - Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand - but none in Japan, initially announced as a founder member last year.
"Ultimately, we dream of the day when a player can play full time in Asia and be the No. 1 golfer in the world. That vision is at the core of what OneAsia is, and it is achievable," the Australian said.
The plan calls for 17-20 events with a minimum purse of US$1 million across nine countries for 2011, which would, Sellenger said, "clearly mark" OneAsia as the "third force" in world golf alongside the US PGA and European tours.
"The first steps need to be creating a platform that is commensurate with Europe, that has the events, that has the prize money, that has the points," Sellenger said.
"The next step is then to take that long journey which is to step up to the level of the US PGA.
"Somewhere along that pathway ... I would hope that our platform would have the strength that a player, save for the odd major, could gain that number one stature playing in Asia.
"Looking at the region, looking at the partners, looking at the economies, it's almost not if it's going to happen but when it's going to happen."
Sellenger's aim would clearly be for that player to hail from the Asia-Pacific region.
OneAsia, a project driven by the Australian PGA along with the Chinese and South Korean governing bodies, had a difficult start last year due to the hostility of the Asian Tour, which views itself as the standard bearer of golf in the region.
Asian Tour chief Kyi Hla Han accused them of being "Australian invaders" who "cannibalized" existing events and players from his tour who played in OneAsia events were punished.
"What you read in the press doesn't reflect the discussions that we have behind closed doors," said Sellenger. "Having said that, there clearly hasn't been a meeting of the minds that we're going to co-exist."
Sellenger is keen, therefore, to stress that the ambition of OneAsia is to "complement" the existing structure in the Asia-Pacific.
"Existing tours in Asia-Pacific continue to be extremely successful in identifying and developing leading golfers," he said. "OneAsia is about working with the existing Tours to create an elite next step. A platform that ensures Asia can retain the best talent right here, for Asian audiences."
The 10 tournaments this year will be played in four countries - Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand - but none in Japan, initially announced as a founder member last year.
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