MAN IN CHARGE

The turmoil in the professional game recently has thrown Asian Tour into the spotlights. CEO and Commissioner Cho Minn Thant throws some light on the road ahead.

THE GAME’S PROFESSIONAL GOLF TOURS ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK VERY DIVIDED. HOW DOES THE ASIAN TOUR FACTOR INTO THE MIX?

From our perspective we are in a unique position where we are a traditional Tour which consists of a 24-event schedule of 72-hole stroke play tournaments that are recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking, yet we are also a partner of LIV Golf with 10 of our 24 events forming The International Series. Amidst all the turbulence of the last two and a half years we have managed to maintain our identity whilst elevating ourselves to a new level with the LIV Golf partnership. We provide the players on the LIV Golf League roster with additional playing opportunities to complete outside of their 14 events, but The International Series also provides Asian Tour members the chance to compete on a higher level. We still maintain relationships with theother International Federation Tours but at this moment we do not have any event collaboration with the PGA TOUR or the DP World Tour.

AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

Although it is a positive thing, we see ourselves evolving from a small business to a medium business quite rapidly. With this comes various challenges where we want to expand and improve our organisation, but we can’t do everything at once. Having to prioritise and manage our ambitions as well as budgeting is probably one of the most challenging things right now. Looking outside of traditional linear broadcast into new digital media is at the forefront of our roadmap for the future.