Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr said that "the outlook for golf in the continent is positive again after a difficult few years which saw tournaments scrapped and sponsors hard to find," according to the AFP. February "will see the long-established Maybank Malaysian Open followed by two new co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour events" -- the $2M Thailand Classic and the Hero Indian Open. Kerr said, "It really highlights that Asia is where the growth is going to be. If you look at the two more established markets, the U.S. and certainly western Europe, they are fairly saturated. You're going to get organic growth in those markets but you're not going to get many new tournaments." Hong Kong "still lacks a headline backer" but the European Tour has underlined its importance with a "key slot on next year's calendar." Kerr said that "the Asian Tour was also looking to increase the number of its stand-alone events, pointing out that the Vascory Classic in Malaysia had been added to next year's calendar." He said, "Am I happy with where the Asian Tour is at the moment? I think I am. Obviously we would love to have more tournaments, more purses, and more opportunities for the players but it takes time" (AFP, 12/22).
