While the world’s top golfers today play for an almost obscene US$45 million prize fund at the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, many of their fellow pros in Asia would not have swung a club, or earned a cent, for six months.
Players from India to Australia have been idle since the Asian Tour was halted after the Malaysia Open on March 7, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have not even been able to practice.
They should have been teeing off next week at the Shinhan Donghae Open in South Korea, the first of three restart events, but, along with tournaments in Japan and Taiwan, it has been canceled, with little prospect of the circuit resuming before next year.
Photo: AFP
Asian Tour CEO and commissioner Cho Minn Thant said that he had hoped to stage 10 to 12 tournaments before the end of this year in the sort of bio-secure “bubbles” that have enabled the US, European and LPGA tours to resume.
“We’ve approached countries with the same protocols that the US, European tours and other sports have employed — testing, players kept in a bio-secure bubble,” Cho said.
“But we are bound by Asian countries who are not lifting the 14-day quarantine requirements,” he added.
A mini-swing in virus-ravaged India next month is also off and November’s Hong Kong Open, a European and Asian Tour event, is likely to move to January, tour insiders have said.
Next month’s flagship WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai this week was canceled as Asia lost its last remaining men’s international tournament scheduled this year, after PGA Tour events in South Korea and Japan were shifted to the US.
Just four Asian Tour events were completed before the shutdown, with only domestic circuits in countries such as Thailand and South Korea managing to restart. The CTBC Ladies Open last month was held in Taiwan, but was not open to foreign golfers.
Tournament professionals in Asia do not earn the multimillion dollar purses enjoyed by their counterparts in the US and Europe, leaving those in COVID-19 hotspots, such as India, with a bleak outlook.
“We have never stayed away from the game for so long,” India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour, said from his home in Kolkata.
“I was about to travel to the UK for a few European Tour events a month back when I tested positive for COVID,” the 42-year-old said. “Though asymptomatic, my plans went haywire.”
Chawrasia has playing rights on the European Tour, and plans to play in two Portugal tournaments from next week, but others are desperate.
“Players who play full-time on the Asian Tour have tough times in store,” Chawrasia said.
“The condition of players on the Indian Tour is terrible. No earning. Nothing,” he said.
For many golfers, it is not feasible to get other employment.
“The job scenario is very grim,” Chawrasia said. “Knowledgeable people are losing jobs, so how can you expect sportspersons to join an office and start working?”
Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris tied for seventh at January’s Hong Kong Open, where he finished two shots behind US Ryder Cup star Tony Finau, earning US$21,200. His total prize money this year stands frozen at US$30,176.17.
Today, he is to be confined to his home watching on TV as Finau chases the US$15 million first prize at East Lake in Atlanta.
Should Finau finish 30th and last at the Tour Championship, he will still pocket US$395,000.
TO THE TOP: After securing the international title on Saturday, Team Taiwan were to face Las Vegas to potentially win their 18th Little League World Series championship A team from Taipei’s Dong Yuan Elementary School won the Little League Baseball World Series’ international title on Saturday by defeating Aruba 1-0 in the annual baseball tournament held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Taiwan team, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, were after press time last night to face a team from Las Vegas, Nevada, which beat a team from Fairfield, Connecticut, in the US championship 8-2. Taiwan are seeking to win their first Little League Baseball World Series title since 1996. “Really haven’t taken a moment to data dump right now on Taiwan,” Nevada manager T.J. Fescher said. “They’re a
‘CATASTROPHE’: Despite losing several key forwards in the summer transfer window, Bayern were up 3-0 in the first half before Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in the second Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians begun their title defense in style. Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half — with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0. Kane told the Bundesliga
Kevin de Bruyne is to lead SSC Napoli’s Serie A title defense today when he makes his full debut at promoted US Sassuolo, but the champions head into the new season rocked by a long-term injury to star striker Romelu Lukaku. De Bruyne was, alongside aging icon Luka Modric, the big new name to arrive in Italy this summer and fans were hoping his linkup with Belgium teammate Lukaku would push Napoli to success both at home and in their return to the UEFA Champions League. The 34-year-old has suffered from hamstring injuries which caused him to miss significant chunks of the
Marc Marquez continued his winning streak as he cruised to victory in the Hungarian GP sprint by two seconds on Saturday night to pad his championship lead. It was a seventh straight Sprint victory for the Spaniard, who has also won the last six longer Sunday grand prix races on his factory Ducati. Fabio Di Giannantonio, an Italian with the VR46 Ducati satellite team was a distant second at Balaton Park, followed by his team-mate and compatriot Franco Morbidelli third. Marquez, a six-time world champion, started the race from pole position. “I felt someone really close on the first corner, from there I
RSS