"America no longer can say it produces the vast majority of the best players in the world - arguably it does not even produce the majority"

Mike Clayton previewed the Australian Open and weighs in on the proposed tour merger with Japan and Asia:

The long-term future of golf in Australia should be tied to golf in Japan and Asia and there has been movement on that front in recent months.

Only the combined strength of these small tours - given the measure of a big tour is America or Europe - will see them create something significant, something to rival Europe and something that is worth a sponsor investing a considerable amount of money.

The problem with rolling three tours into one is that the players are always going to look at the game the way players always have and that is 'how does this affect me?'

Big decisions must be made with the long-term benefit of the game in mind and clearly the long-term benefit of the professional game is to create a tour to rival the best in the world.

America no longer can say it produces the vast majority of the best players in the world - arguably it does not even produce the majority - and that balance will only continue to tip in favour of the 'foreigners' as the rest of the world uncovers talented players with games that are capable of winning big tournaments including the biggest events in America.