| International Series is bringing Asian Tour the recognition it deserves  Cho Minn Thant and Rahul Singh (Source: Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour) Life-saver. Game-changer. Geography-expander. These are just some adjectives that can be attributed to the International Series and what it means to professional golf in Asia. Launched last year as part of LIV Golf’s 10-year, $300 million commitment to the Asian Tour, the International Series has changed the way Asian Tour functions and injected the self-belief that it can become a global tour. In 2022, the Series visited England, Morocco and Egypt. This year, it helped the Asian Tour visit countries like Oman and Qatar – long considered the stronghold of rival DP World Tour – and also conduct two tournaments in the United Kingdom. Let’s start with the obvious. The International Series has made the Asian Tour a very lucrative one, but it was also the defibrillator that resuscitated it at a dire time – just after the COVID-19 pandemic which had forced the Tour to shut down for nearly 21 months without a single tournament. With many Asian countries still not opening its borders fully, the Tour would have found it difficult to put together a solid schedule even in 2022 and beyond. Apart from the finances, it has given Tour members a chance to spread their wings and play internationally. As CEO and chairman Cho Minn Thant said, “it has shown we do not have to depend on co-sanctioned events with the DP World Tour”. That is a very important and valid point. In last week’s International Series England at Close House, there were two things worth noting. As many as 120 Asian Tour members teed up for the event alongside nearly 16 Indians. That is an incredible opportunity for the players, who were earlier starved of international exposure. When such big-money events happened in Asia, they were mostly co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour, and a majority of spots would go to their players. Asian Tour would get about 60 spots. On the other hand, only one event on European soil (Omega European Masters) was co-sanctioned for a brief number of years. Asian Tour would get just 30 spots in that. The second point is very significant, even though Cho and his team are not tom-toming it. For the first time since Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) changed the way it ranks the field (which is now critical in how many OWGR points the tournament will get), an Asian Tour event had greater strength of field than a corresponding DP World Tour event. Of course, this was possible because 22 LIV Golf players took part in IS England, but this is going to be a permanent and important feature of the tournaments. The IS is also designed to give additional playing opportunities to LIV Golf players and those who were unable to keep their membership there. The Series is also important for Asian Tour players who want to play in LIV Golf. Winning the IS Order of Merit is one sure way of securing the card, which means a minimum earning of $1.68 million (14 tournaments, with $120,000 for last-place finish) for one year. For a majority of Asian players, that would amount to career earnings. It’s not to say that everything is well with the International Series. These events need to become self-sustainable and cannot just depend on LIV Golf money. Asian Tour realises that and is working towards it. It was facing severe headwinds, especially in its efforts to tie up broadcast partners, when the PGA Tour was engaged in a raging battle with LIV Golf. Asian Tour was also in the crosshairs of the PGA Tour for accepting Saudi money. Quite remarkably, even Jay Monahan is now open to the idea of being funded by Public Investment Fund. Rahul Singh, head of International Series, said that in just its second year of operations, he is now getting calls from places like South Africa, Mexico and the United States to bring the IS event to those countries. “We want to solidify the IS. People have started noticing the product. We are now getting inquiries from countries we thought we’d never go as Asian Tour. But my mandate is to make the events sustainable and secure local partners. With all the new venues we are speaking to, we want to sign multi-year deals,” said Singh. Singh also addressed a hot rumour that an IS event is being planned next year in India, featuring several LIV Golf stars. “There are a couple of discussions, but nothing is set in stone right now,” he added. | 
