"Saudi International and Asian Tour announce historic golf partnership"

An unbylined Arab News story reports on Golf Saudi moving from the European Tour—where it was once a cherished “get” for Chief Executive Keith Pelley—to the Asian Tour for 10 years. The subtext will involve how this impacts the Asian Tour, the Saudi effort to disrupt pro golf via a ripped-poff version of the Premier Golf League concept, and what players might show up to cash a check.

From the story:

“Today marks a significant development for our flagship golf event and our vision to strengthen the depth of world-class golf events, both in the GCC and also on the international stage,” said Majed Al-Sorour, CEO of Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation.

“The importance and potential of Asia’s role in world golf is undeniable, not least due to its position as a global economic powerhouse,” he said, adding: “This partnership will unlock many opportunities for players, sponsors and fans of the game. Most importantly, we are eager to help build a more inclusive game for all eligible professional golfers that spans borders and cultures by fostering collaboration with major tours and see this as an exciting first step on that journey.”

2020 CJ Cup Moves From South Korea To Shadow Creek

With the PGA Tour’s fall Asia swing not happening, reports of a revamped swing in the western United States is starting to come to fruition. One leg is now official: the CJ Cup moving from Nine Bridges in Korea to Las Vegas’ exclusive Shadow Creek.

The October 15-18 date will follow the already-scheduled Shriner’s in Las Vegas, giving the Tour a nice one-two desert swing minimizing travel. Now, there are casinos open so…it might be a COVID exposure wash.

Two events in Asia, Japan’s Zozo and China’s HSBC, remain on the current schedule but are not expected to happen in those locales.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR, CJ Group announce move of THE CJ CUP  from Nine Bridges in Jeju Island to Shadow Creek in Las Vegas 

 Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and Seoul, Korea: PGA TOUR and CJ Group officials today announced that THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES will move venues and will now be staged at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 15-18, 2020 and will change to THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK.

Since 2017, the event has been played annually at The Club @ Nine Bridges on Jeju Island, Korea, with Justin Thomas securing a playoff victory over Marc Leishman in the inaugural event and winning again last year. Brooks Koepka was victorious by four shots in 2018. 

“The PGA TOUR is truly appreciative of CJ Group’s commitment to bring THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK to the United States this October,” said Ty Votaw, PGA TOUR Executive Vice President, International. “While our players have always looked forward to visiting Korea, the current circumstances provided this new opportunity to bring the event to Las Vegas which will also provide brand exposure and awareness to the viewing audience in the United States and around the globe. We are thankful for the partnership and support that CJ Group and the Korean PGA have shown in view of the circumstances. We are confident this year’s event will showcase a stellar field while bringing the CJ Group’s brand values to a new time zone.”

Ethan Kim, Sports Marketing Director of CJ Group, said: “We are delighted to bring THE CJ CUP to the U.S. and to the renowned Shadow Creek. It is unfortunate we will not be able to showcase the PGA TOUR and the best players in the world on Jeju Island this year, but we look forward to having this tournament again in Korea in 2021. We are excited to bring our Korean culture and flavor of bibigo to show the TOUR players and American audience through coverage of THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK.”

As part of the early events on the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK is slated to be played a week after the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Votaw added: “We would like to express our appreciation to both Shriners Hospitals for Children and their tournament team in Las Vegas who have been fully supportive of our decision to bring THE CJ CUP to the U.S, immediately following their long-standing and successful event, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. This will create an exciting and seamless two-week Las Vegas swing for the TOUR and our players.”

THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK will once again feature a 78-man field comprising of the highest ranked player of Korean nationality from the Asian Tour Order of Merit, up to five players designated by the KPGA and the top-3 available players of Korean nationality from the Official World Golf Ranking as part of CJ Group’s vision to support the development of professional golf in Korea.  The remainder of the field will be made up of the leading players from the 2019-20 FedExCup points list and sponsor exemptions.  

 “THE CJ CUP quickly became one of my favorite events on TOUR. While winning twice certainly helped, the hospitality shown to us by CJ Group and the Korean community has made the tournament special to all of us as PGA TOUR players,” said 13-time PGA TOUR winner and defending THE CJ CUP champion Justin Thomas. “It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to travel to Korea for this year’s event, but it is fantastic that we will still be able to shine a light on CJ Group through the tournament at a venue like Shadow Creek.” 

 George Kliavkoff, president of Entertainment & Sports for MGM Resorts International, said: “Shadow Creek is one of the country's leading courses offering guests exclusive, first-class experiences.  The course will be in tremendous shape and ready to host our PGA TOUR partners and the world's best golfers as they compete in THE CJ CUP in Las Vegas.” 

Shadow Creek, built in 1989 by renowned golf architect Tom Fazio, played host to The Match: Tiger vs Phil in 2018, which was a winner-take-all shootout between PGA TOUR legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The exclusive course, owned by MGM Resorts International, is available only to guests of the company’s properties.

Spieth Will Need Extra Day To Go For Coveted Sing Open Crown

Jordan Spieth's quest to be the historic Singapore Open's first winner after the event took a three year world tour of Europe, Scandinavia and the sub-continent, now spills into Monday after yet another weather delay. Spieth had an 18th hole putt remaining when the horn sounded.

As the Asian Tour's game story notes, Spieth's last hole putt could put more pressure on leader Younghan Song, World No. 204 seeking his first win. Also in the mix is World No. 199 Liang Wen-chong and World No. 1030 Masanori Kobayashi, whose name reminded the television announce team of Keyser Soze.

The storylines! The drama!

On a serious note, at least the exhausted Spieth gets one more night in his Singapore bed, followed by one more day to discuss with agent-turned-caddy-this-week, Jay Danzi, the joys international travel in your run-up to the Masters title defense.

The almost-completed fourth round highlights from Golf Channel, if you're so inclined.

Update on 2016-02-01 00:31 by Geoff

**Spieth returned, made his putt but leader Song parred the 18th to capture the title.

Spieth's putt:

And this is the putt that @jordanspieth came back for on Monday morning. Birdie! Meanwhile Song retains slim advantage as he saves par on 16. Needs to maintain composure down the stretch #SingOpen @singaporeopengolf

A video posted by official Asian Tour account (@asiantour) on Jan 31, 2016 at 3:35pm PST

Song's tap-in to win.

Congratulations to Younghan Song of Korea for winning the @singaporeopengolf! #SingOpen

A video posted by official Asian Tour account (@asiantour) on Jan 31, 2016 at 4:23pm PST

Update on 2016-02-01 04:03 by Geoff

**And a selfie for the winner with the world No. 1.

World number one @JordanSpieth meets our excited @SingOpenGolf champion Younghan Song before his press con #SingOpen pic.twitter.com/4UIqboxvc1

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) February 1, 2016

"Economic uncertainty hits Asian golf"

As the playoff extravaganza winds down and the massive audiences take in one more week of PGA Tour golf before turning their attention to football and baseball, Asia will soon come into focus with a few big events on the various tours.

An unbylined APF story looks at the suddenly less prosperous times in Asian professional golf.

Asia's end-of-year golf round remains studded with lucrative, imported events, including the CIMB Classic, BMW Masters, WGC-HSBC Champions and the World Cup, offering combined prize money of more than $30 million.

But with about 20 international events scheduled across the Asia-Pacific region in the last few months of this year, it's no surprise that some are crowded out.

The Singapore Open, previously billed as 'Asia's major' and with a $6 million purse last year, is the glaring omission from this year's schedule. Its promoters are promising it will return next season, but the date, venue and sponsor are all unknown.

Meanwhile India's European Tour-sanctioned Avantha Masters has been shelved after its main sponsor withdrew due to the "current economic condition", including a plunging rupee.

And the Hong Kong Open, long a cornerstone of Asian golf, is without a sponsor and is relying on government funds to help pay its prize money.

"11. Four Chinese players"

They finally got around to satisfying IMG's deal points to announcing the WGC-HSBC event in China and the field qualifications offer what I think may be a couple of buried ledes:

3. Winners from 23 PGA TOUR cosponsored events in 2009, which shall be identified as those 23 PGA TOUR events from 2008 with the highest Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating, having a rating of 40 points or more.

Bear with me. First this:

11. Four Chinese players

And? Nothing else? Just "Four Chinese Players" as a category?

So stringent!

Alright here's what I found interesting:

13. If necessary to fill the field to 78 players, additional Tournament Winners from the 2008 HSBC Champions through the event preceding the 2009 WGC-HSBC Champions, which shall be identified as those winners of events from the 2007 HSBC Champions to the 2008 HSBC Champions with the highest Official World Golf Ranking Strength of Field Rating, having a rating of 40 points or more, not listed in an above category:

2008/2009 Events    Winner
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic     Perez, Pat
Buick Open
Justin Timberlake Classic
John Deere Classic
Wyndham Championship
RBC Canadian Open
Fry's.com Open
Valero Texas Open
Turning Stone Resort Champ.
Casio World Open           Oda, Koumei
Viking Classic
BMW Italian Open
Madrid Masters
Estoril Open de Portugal           Hoey, Michael
Mitsubishi Diamond
US Bank Championship
Munsingwwear Open
Japan Tour Championship

World Ranking gurus out there, I'm wondering if this is the first time that the line has been so publicly drawn with event winners needing to come from events "having a rating of 40 points or more?"

If so, seems it could set an interesting precedent for other world events or majors?

"Asian Tour players are concerned second- tier events would perish or offer lower prize money"

Bloomberg's Grant Clark writes that the "Super Tour" plan between the Japan, Australiasia and Asian Tours may hinge on the survival of second-tier Asian Tour events.

If nothing else, this is quite an interesting contrast to the PGA Tour's concern for its second-tier events and especially the Fall Finish, which seems doomed to the apparent dismay of no one with any power.

Japanese and Australian officials reached an agreement to form the ``OneAsia Tour'' from 2009 and are in talks to persuade the player-run Asian Tour and four national circuits to sign up.

Under the plan, the existing tours would act as feeders to the new circuit, which would consist of elite events most weekends of the year. Asian Tour players are concerned second- tier events would perish or offer lower prize money, Han said.

``The OneAsia Tour is worth considering,'' Han said in a phone interview from Bangkok today. ``I'd like to pursue it but I have to make sure the backbone of the tour is sustainable.''

The Japan Golf Tour Organization and the PGA Tour of Australasia signed a memorandum of understanding in October to create the new circuit, which would include the cream of the current events as well as new tournaments. Tours in China, South Korea, Thailand and India may also sign up.

Andy Yamanaka, chief secretary of the Japanese golf ruling body, said the Asian Tour is ``very, very important'' for the viability of the new circuit. Han's task is complicated because his circuit spans multiple countries and golf bodies, he said.

``At this stage, we believe they will be joining us,'' Yamanaka said in an interview from Tokyo. ``A 2009 start may be difficult but it's important for everyone to keep talking.''

The Asian Tour held a meeting in Bangkok two days ago to discuss the plan and the players ``didn't take to it,'' according to Unho Park, a Singapore-based Australian ranked 27th on the money list.

This sounds familiar:

``OneAsia would only benefit the top 20 players,'' Park said by telephone from Bangkok. ``Japan and Australia know the market is Asia so they want a piece of the pie. The players think the Asian Tour can do it by itself.''

And this is fascinating:

``Australia hasn't got much to offer,'' added Simon Yates, a Scot ranked fifth on Asia's money list, in an e-mail response. ``Japan's losing tournaments to the women's tour, which isn't a good sign.''

"And if it's not top of the list for the players, it is for their managers"

Nick Mulvenney talks to Mission Hills' David Chu about the World Cup and the resort. Chu is one of the founders of the massive resort, which aspires to be the Augusta of China. Really...

The Mission Hills Golf Club is hoping to become synonymous with the World Cup by building up a tradition like that surrounding the U.S. Masters and its Augusta National venue.

The World Cup has already had a varied history since Canadian industrialist John Hopkins founded it as "an Olympiad of golf" in 1953 but its home for the next dozen years will be the $650-million complex hewn out of the hills of southern China.

Since the first 18 holes were completed in 1994, 11 more international standard courses have been built in the resort with a list of designers that reads like a "Who's Who" of international golf -- Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, David Duval.

And some of them have even been there!

However, it was the heavily bunkered Olazabal course that hosted the 53rd World Cup at the weekend and that is where it is likely to stay for the forseeable future, according to Tenniel Chu, son of the founding father of Mission Hills, Dr David Chu.

"We have the luxury to play on a different course each year but at the same time, what we want to try and create is somewhat similar to what Augusta has done," the resort's executive director told Reuters in an interview.

"Every year, same course, same venue, same time. For the audience watching around the world, they will grow familiar with it and become emotionally attached to it."

Uh huh...

"But I think as the game is growing here, there is more interest in coming to China. The next frontier for players is to come and showcase themselves is Asia.

"They've more or less hit the ceiling in Europe and North America. And in areas like sponsorship or course design, China is definitely top of the list.

"And if it's not top of the list for the players, it is for their managers," he laughed.

"The news of an alliance between the Japanese, Asian and Australasian Tours should be another warning to O’Grady."

Alistair Tait points out why the possible union of the Japanese, Asian and Australasian Tours could create a strong rival to the European Tour, when they really all could have been working together. But Lewine Mair reports that everyone may be getting along better soon.

What's With Korean Americans and Golf?

That's the question L.A. Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez delves into in the wake of a golf controversy in South Korean politics and in the era of Michelle Wie.