The Asian Tour is in talks to set up an “iconic” golf event to rival the majors as early as 2015, its new chief executive has revealed. Mike Kerr, who took up his post in March, made the statement as he laid out an ambitious vision which sees the circuit expanding to match the current size of the European Tour in the next 10 years.
“Yes, I think we can have an iconic event in Asia. There are some plans that we have that we’re already in the market talking about,” he told AFP at the Asian Tour offices in Singapore. “We’re working on it… let’s say definitely within the next three to five (years).” The so-called “fifth major” is considered the next frontier of Asian golf after years of rapid growth brought new, world-class tournaments and pumped up prize money and standards. Both the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, with a purse of US$7 million, and the US$6 million Singapore Open, have been informally touted as “Asia’s major”.
Golf’s majors — the US Masters, US Open, British Open and the PGA Championship — have slightly larger purses, but also prestige and tradition built up over generations. “The majors are not going to move. I think I can say that for certain,” said Kerr, in his first interview with an international press agency since joining the tour. “I’m not sure whether it would ever be confirmed as a major or supported in that way but I think there certainly is room for an iconic event in Asia that would be at a similar level to a major event, which the players can support and which we can build up over time. “Golf is still in its infancy in this part of the world. The majors have hundreds of years of tradition, which is what sets them apart from every other event.” The former ESPN Star Sports TV executive said Asia was not “burdened” by the “old boys network” in Europe and America, enabling it to do things differently — including for example a tournament where all players wear shorts.
He predicted the Asian Tour would be offering similar total prize money to the European Tour in a decade, rising from 26 to about 40 tournaments a year with potential new partnerships in the Middle East and the former Soviet bloc. But he did not expect friction with the European and PGA tours, despite their increasing focus on Asia. “I think there’s plenty of opportunity and I don’t foresee that there’s going to be a major crisis or conflict between us and the two major tours in the world,” Kerr said.
