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 Players hail staging of Pakistan Open

Asian Tour players have hailed the staging of this week's Pakistan Open, which heralds an exciting start to a bumper year in 2006.

The US$200,000 championship begins at Karachi Golf Club on Thursday and it will also be the first Asian Tour tournament to receive a substantial increase in Official World Golf Ranking points.

Making its debut on the Asian Tour, the Pakistan Open is the second leg of the 2006 season which kicked off in mid-December with the Okinawa Open, jointly sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour.

The likes of Filipino great Frankie Minoza, Asia's Visa Dynasty Cup victorious team members Angelo Que of the Philippines, India's Amandeep Johl and Singapore's Mardan Mamat are in Karachi this week looking to lift the Pakistan Open trophy.

“We are glad to have Pakistan Open as part of the Asian Tour as part of our objective is to get more Asian countries involved,” said Johl.

“There is no lack of talent in Asia and I believe if Pakistan Open becomes a regular feature on the Asian Tour, there will be more Pakistan golfers coming into the forefront,” he said.

Mardan shared a similar sentiment as he believes that golf in Pakistan has a promising future.

“To have the Pakistan Open on the Asian Tour calendar is a huge boost for the country as it will definitely increase the interest of the sport among the masses and expose the locals to top level competition,” said Mardan.

Australia's Marcus Both, currently sixth on the UBS Order of Merit, Korea-American Ron Won, ranked eighth after the Okinawa event, and former Tour winners Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Malaysia's Danny Chia, Myanmar's Zaw Moe and American Andrew Pitts are also expected to contend for this week's honours.

The 1999 Myanmar Open champion Taimur Hussain, Mohamed Munir and four-time Pakistan No.1 Mohamed Shabbir Iqbal are among the 26 local golfers vying for success at the Pakistan Open.

The continued rise in playing standards in Asia, coupled with the growth of the Tour, will see all tournament winners receiving a minimum of seven World Ranking points, as opposed to three points previously.

More Asian Tour players will also have the opportunity to gain World Ranking status as the minimum number of players to earn points is expected to more than double from the top six finishers previously.

“The new World Ranking point system is good for the boys to kick-up their rankings and go for the Major tournaments,” said Mardan.

Johl, who is also the chairman of the Tournament Players Committee on the Asian Tour, said the inclusion of the Pakistan Open is a great boost for the game in this emerging nation as well as for the region.

“We have Asian players winning European Tour events and with this new World Ranking point system, we hope to see even more players break into the top ranking,” said Johl.

Last season, the Asian Tour staged a record 27 tournaments and offered over US$20 million in prize money to the region's stars. A schedule of 32 events with over US$24 million will be offered this season.

January 17, 2006