The Asian Tour has defended this week’s historic hosting the St. Andrews Bay Championship at the Home of Golf in Scotland.
The hosting of the $1.5m event right on the doorstep of the famed golfing city has attracted a number of LIV-based players including Masters champion Sergio Garcia and with fellow European Ryder Cup stars in Paul Casey and Bernd Weisberger.
The event is also among 10 tournaments featuring in the Asian Tour’s 2023 International Series in assocation with the Saudi Arabian-back LIV Golf and with this week’s host Fairmont Resort course, located on the eastern outskirts of the town, being just four miles from the R & A clubhouse.
The St. Andrews Bay Championship this week at the Fairmont Resort. (Photo – TourMiss)
Initial news to play an Asian Tour event certainly raised the eyebrows of many in the golf world including the DP World Tour that hosted two Hero Open’s on the Torrance course along with a Seniors Tour event while the R & A must also have questioned the move.
However, you only have to look back earlier this year when the DP World Tour hosted back-to-back events in Singapore and Thailand, and on the very doorstep of the Asian Tour without seeking the Asian Tour’s involvement.
As well, the Asian Tour was far from pleased when the R & A stripped the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion of an Open Championship invitation into the 2022 Open at St. Andrews and now also the recent Open Championship at Royal Liverpool due to the Tour’s links with Saudi Arabia and LIV Golf.
Asian Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant
Asian Tour Commissioner Cho Minn Thant addressed the decision to host a regular Tour event in St. Andrews in speaking with the BBC Scotland.
“It’s the home of golf, and we’re an international golf organisation, so why not?”, said Thant.
“We like to have that local flavour wherever we go.”
Thant has visited St. Andrews often in his role including last year in representing the Asian Tour at the 150th Open Championship while he was a VIP guest at the annual Association of Golf Writers annual dinner ahead of catching COVID and being confirmed to his Fairmont Resort hotel room
“I think I’ve been to St. Andrews six or seven times now because it really does have the feel of the home of golf.
“Just being there in the town, you walk round the streets and on every corner there is a golf shop, or iconic hotel. The whole feel of the town is just ‘golf’. I do always make sure I go for fish and chips, too.”
Of course, the Asian Tour was in England last week for the International Series England event at Close House and with the tournament won by American Andy Ogletree by an impressive seven shots, who currenly leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
We also learned last week from LIV Golf star Graeme McDowell how much he would welcome an International Series event being played at his beloved Royal Portrush.
“We’ve been working very closely with the management of Fairmont so we can produce a very good-looking event on TV,” said Thant.
“We did Newcastle as a one-off last year but it made sense for us to do back-to-back weeks in Europe. The feedback from the players is that they would like that.
“So, we’re all really looking forward to this week”.
