THE PGA TOUR DREAM – US PGA and European Tours may hold an attraction for Asian players, but they are not a walk in the park

WHILE achieving winning results is always gratifying, a victory can taste even sweeter when it helps one to leapfrog to larger ponds. Ask most professional golfers if they’d like to be gracing the fairways on the US PGA Tour or the European Tour and the answer would be an emphatic Yes. After all, they’re both lucrative and dominant, and players who qualify for them, either through Q-School, co-sanctioned tournaments or invitations, can expect decent monetary returns, just by making the cut.

Liang Wen-chong, China’s number one player, who currently leads this year’s Asian Tour’s UBS Order of Merit with almost US$450,000, has set his sights on eventually playing on the US PGA Tour, as that is where the world’s top players in the world compete on a regular basis. ‘It’s like the premier league for golf and is one of my goals,’ he said in a recent interview.

Yet, while these tours may hold an attraction for players from this part of the world, they are not necessarily a walk in the park, with golfers having to adapt to a number of conditions. ‘The courses in Europe are different compared with Asia,’ says Liang.

‘Some are longer and the grasses are different, which can make it more challenging especially on the greens for putting. You really need to study them.’ He also finds the weather a problem. ‘It can be very unpredictable in the UK. I needed a winter knitted hat to practise there last time because of the cold wind. You need to be careful how you pack and bring enough layers.’

Singapore No 1 Mardan Mamat, who finished second in the recent Wales Open, agrees, saying: ‘The weather is too cold for me and it affects my game a lot. When it’s below 14 degrees Celsius I can’t feel anything in my hands.’

Last year’s Asian Tour UBS Order of Merit winner Jeev Milkha Singh, who is playing in the US and Europe more this year, survived the cut in this year’s US Masters and recent US Open at Oakmont. He is another who doesn’t find it a pushover.

‘It is a far greater challenge for me knowing that at most events, especially in the US, the world’s top players are in the field. The course conditions vary considerably between Europe and the US. In the US they tend to tuck the pins away and the greens are much firmer. The weather obviously makes a big difference being normally colder, windy and more rain in Europe.’

Singh adds: ‘For me, the main challenge is being able to perform well in what I term ‘The Big League’. There is much room for improvement but, saying that, I am happy with how I have performed in the Major events up to now, and accept that I am very much still on the learning curve.’

Even though there are obvious playing condition differences, the courses nevertheless get the thumbs up. Singh enjoys the challenge of pitting himself against the best in the world, playing on different courses and varying weather conditions. For Mardan, it’s the tiptop condition of the courses and the fact that a courtesy car is provided for every tournament. Gripes include being away from family, constant travelling, and battling the different time zones.

Yet, while the top echelon golfers in their respective countries or regional tours may be going on to bigger and better things with their promotion into the bigger leagues, what happens to their original spawning ground? Does it take a dent in terms of losing players or, perhaps worse, its identity, or is there enough talent coming up through the ranks to ensure a healthy turnover?

Dominique Boulet, a regular golf broadcaster with Asian Tour Productions, and a former Japan, Australia, South African and Asian Tour player, believes that while the lure of the US PGA Tour is considerable, it shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.

‘A lot of our players have starts in Europe but still play the majority of their tournaments on the Asian Tour, due to many factors like language, food, weather etc,’ he says.

‘Talent wise, there are so many young Thai, Indian, Taiwanese and Chinese players coming through, and we’ll have more and more talent coming through in the next five years or so. The future is looking very bright for the Asian Tour.’

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han agrees. ‘While the Asian Tour players will better their careers in Europe, they do miss home and will come back to support the tour.’

He adds: ‘There is a back-up of players springing up right now and there’s no shortage of talent in Asia.

It’s encouraging to see the Asian golf associations putting junior golf development on their priority list, and introducing young golfers, who will turn professional eventually, into national teams.’

Mardan acknowledges that he has to spend a little bit of time in Europe this year as he has the opportunity to do so. ‘It’s good for Asian Tour players to build themselves up and have that opportunity to play on both the US PGA and European Tours, yet I don’t think we’ll lose them,’ he says. ‘Wherever they go, they still come back and play in the tournaments on the Asian Tour.’

Singh says: ‘I don’t think there will be a talent drain as such, because all players strive to play on the bigger Tours of Europe and the US and we in Asia are seeing more and more younger players coming through to replace us older guys. I can only speak for myself, and I want to be a global player but will always come back to Asia and continue to support the Tours that I started my career on.

‘I would love to qualify to play on the PGA Tour, but I would only want to play the minimum number of events there so that I can continue to be a global player.’

According to Liang, the ‘drain’ is more like a drip and is not a concern. ‘Many Asian players who are on the other Tours always seem to make a point to come back to various events. I have played many tournaments in China this year, which is of course important for supporting the progress there,’ he says. ‘Winning the UBS Order of Merit is a goal I have set for myself and so I will have more events to play in Asia again later in the year. And, with more events, there’s actually more incentive to stay in Asia longer and gain the confidence and resources to challenge the world.

‘I think it also helps to showcase the talent that exists in Asia to the rest of the world. It was comforting to be in the players’ lounge at Wentworth recently and to say hello to Thai players like Chapchai and Thaworn, also Mardan and Indians Shiv Kapur, Jeev and Jyoti Randhawa. ‘It also raises the bar in Asia golf and challenges players by giving local heroes to live up to and to show them that you need to dream big because it can be possible with hard work. I think there’s still plenty of room for more Asians to join the European Tour and certainly in America on the US PGA Tour.’

Source:
Paper: Business Times, The (Singapore)
Date: June 23, 2007