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50/50 chance Asian Tour joins 'Super Tour' - Han

The chances of the Asian Tour joining Australia, Japan, and New Zealand to create a "super tour" to rival Europe and the United States are 50-50, executive chairman Kyi Hla Han said Monday.

Plans have been on the drawing board for more than two years and Japan's recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Australasian Tour was seen as a major breakthrough.

Tours in China, India, South Korea, and Thailand may also ink agreements but it is the involvement of the Asian Tour that is considered crucial to the viability of any new circuit.

Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han told AFP in-depth discussions were taking place, but insisted any new tour had to enhance what was currently on offer for Asian Tour players.

"We are fairly seriously looking into it and at this stage it is 50 percent likely to happen," he said.

"There is a lot of work involved. We would have to figure out how the three tours would work - will it enhance player opportunities, enhance events, and will we get bigger purses?

"The competition in Asia now is very good, our tour is very progressive and it needs to solidify that. But if you put the whole region together it will be attractive to market forces, we can see that."

However, some Asian Tour players are concerned that smaller events would be axed or offer lower prize money, depriving them of a livelihood, if the "super tour" is formed, he added.

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.

"There are mixed emotions among the players," Han said.

"For Japan and Australia it is easier but I have 24 nationalities and events in 16 different countries to consider. It is my responsibility to ensure all our players get opportunities."

Asked if a "super tour" could be launched by 2009, as suggested by Australasian PGA Tour chief executive Ben Sellenger, Han said: "2009 is a reasonable timeframe."

Over the weekend, Sellenger said getting Japan on board was a big step in establishing a tour to rival the hugely popular, and lucrative, US PGA and European Tours.

"This is not only significant in golf, this is significant in global sport," he told The Australian newspaper.

"If this region can he harnessed correctly, it would be a significant achievement in global sport.

"At the moment, people are thinking about it and they need to be given time. This is a significant moment in the history of world tournament golf."

Sellenger said the initial target was to play 20 tournaments with a minimum prizemoney purse of 1.5 million US dollars, although some tournaments would be worth twice that amount.

Australia could expect to have four or five tournaments as part of the new Tour which would run for 12 months.

He added that the proposed Tour would offer more top-class tournaments, lift playing standards and attract more of the world's best golfers to play in the region.

"It absolutely makes sense that all the bodies in the region act together to try to create something bigger than the disparate parts. This is the way forward," he said.

December 10, 2007