Singapore: The Asian Tour’s days as a down trodden ‘stepping stone’ circuit are over. For decades, the Asian Tour has been widely treated as a poor relation to the PGA Tour and European Tour and dismissed as purely a pathway for players to progress their careers.

However, in the wake of a US$200 million investment to support playing opportunities and prize funds over the next 10 years, the Asian Tour is finally ready to step out of the shadows and into the limelight.

Speaking during an interview with the Asian Golf Industry Federation, Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour’s Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, discussed the backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), via LIV Golf Investments, and the implications for his organisation.

Cho said: “We’ve been looking for a big-time investment like this for decades … and it’s finally here. Now we’ve got to do our best to harness it and grow the Asian Tour into what it can be, or should be.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day. But we’re in a pretty good position now to accelerate our growth.

“Doing a deal where 10 events come onto the schedule straight away and remain on our schedule for the next 10 years is massive. We can only build around that and build our product and grow from there.”

Cho acknowledges that a change in the Asian Tour’s relationship with the PGA Tour and European Tour is inevitable, but he maintains a dignified and diplomatic stance. He said: “We still keep in contact with the PGA Tour and the European Tour, but they’ve made it very clear, or they’ve positioned very clear, that they will be doing their own thing and will be separate to us.

“(But) I don’t think it changes our position in the International Federation. I don’t think we’ve done anything outside of our mission and duty to our members, which is to grow the game of golf in Asia and grow the Asian Tour.

“We’ve had an alliance with the European Tour for the past five years. We’ve had great success co-sanctioning tournaments with them since 1999 and our players have always looked to progress their careers by going to Europe after they’ve seen success in Asia.

“The European Tour has been quite open about not continuing the co-sanction arrangements going forward and the progression for our players to get onto the European Tour.

“We accept that, but we feel that with the new investment we’ll build our Tour into a lucrative Tour where players might not have to look to Europe or at other Tours to make a lucrative living.

“We’ve always had an issue with players performing very well on the Asian Tour and before you know it, they’re off to Europe and we’re left with a new crop of players.

“Not that that’s a bad thing, but an investment like this and a new series like this will hopefully allow us to keep some talent in Asia and build the Tour into a place that people want to come and play, not just the stepping stone Tour.”

Despite the cooling of ties with the PGA Tour and European Tour, Cho insists the Asian Tour will continue to work closely with other professional Tours.

He said: “We co-sanctioned three events in Korea with the Korean PGA – the Maekyung Open, the Korean Open and the Shinhan Donghae Open.

“We do several co-sanctions with the Japan Tour – the Singapore Open and the Diamond Cup – and we’re looking to do stuff with the Australasian Tour in future, as well.

“We believe in collaboration. We’re very happy to co-sanction events and work together with every Tour. We’ve had a great history of working with every Tour. I think we’re the only Tour that in the past has worked with every single Tour within the Federation. So, we’re happy to keep those ties alive and build on them if the opportunities arise.”

Cho is also hopeful that marquee players will be granted releases from the PGA Tour and European Tour to perform in Asian Tour events.

Cho said: “We’ve had really good success with tournaments like the Hong Kong Open, Maybank Championship, Indonesia Masters bringing in marquee players year in, year out.

“We expect that to continue. Promoters, sponsors are still going to want several top players to come and participate in their events.

“I don’t believe that what we’re doing with this new series is outside of the norm really. We’re going to put on our tournaments and try and build our schedule and grow the prize monies and the stature of these events.

“We have an open category in these marquee events where players from the top-200 (in the Official World Golf Ranking) can come and play regardless of their Tour affiliation.

“We’re going to have categories for elite amateurs as well and the top players from various Order of Merits. We would like to be very inclusive and if players from other Tours, other nations, would like to come and play these marquee events they need not be members of the Asian Tour.”

*The full interview with Cho can be viewed by clicking here.