KUALA LUMPUR: All it took was one tweet to set abuzz what will be a “fun” Fall season when the PGA TOUR’s juggernaut swings to Asia for its annual odyssey, with a promise of raising the decibels and extending the game’s rising popularity in the Far East.
In 27 words, Tiger Woods informed his 6.5 million Twitter followers that he will play in the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in Japan, which is one of three mega PGA TOUR tournaments in Asia in October.
The Asian swing, which offers nearly US$30 million in combined prize money, also features THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in South Korea and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China, delivering a true celebration of golf at the highest level in the region.
This will be the first Tiger sighting at a PGA TOUR tournament in Asia since his appearance at the now-concluded CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2012 and the first time in 13 years that he will be in Japan following the 2006 Dunlop Phoenix. Woods also played in the World Cup of Golf in Japan in 2001.
“I’m excited to play in the inaugural ZOZO Championship in October, and return to Japan, one of my favourite countries. It’s going to be a fun fall,” said Woods in a tweet that resonated around the world.
In golf, they say timing is everything and organisers of Japan’s first official PGA TOUR tournament couldn’t be more pleased with Woods’ early commitment being made 11 days after he produced a Masters Tournament victory for the ages. It will also coincide nicely with Asia’s continued rise on the PGA TOUR following career breakthrough victories by Taiwan’s C.T. Pan and Korea’s Sung Kang in recent months.
Following years of dealing with debilitating knee and back injuries, his 81st PGA TOUR victory at Augusta National, which put him one win shy of matching the winningest record held by Sam Snead, has cemented Woods’ legacy in the sport. It also led him to becoming only the fourth golfer after Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Charlie Sifford to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Donald Trump in May.
With Woods committed to the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, the PGA TOUR’s newest showpiece in Asia in what is the world’s second largest golf market will undoubtedly complement an already all-star line-up of mega events featuring the established WGC-HSBC Champions, the region’s lone World Golf Championships tournament, and THE CJ CUP, which has celebrated two successful editions by heralding great champions in Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka.
The new generation of PGA TOUR stars have fully embraced the TOUR’s vision of going global as they have made a beeline to Asia that even without the presence of Woods in recent times, tournaments in the region have thrived due to the strength in depth available on the PGA TOUR’s reservoir of talent which membership now includes 46 of the world’s top-50 golfers.
World No. 2 Dustin Johnson has become a regular visitor to China after winning his first WGC-HSBC Champions title in 2013. Past winners of the prestigious event include Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter and Hideki Matsuyama, a calibre line-up of the stars that it regularly attracts yearly.
“I’ve had a lot of success in China,” said Johnson, who was also runner-up in 2017. “I’ve played well there and I like the golf course ever since the first time I went. I always go back … it’s a World Golf Championship and I enjoy playing in it.”
With the number of Korean golfers competing on the PGA TOUR growing with each passing season, THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES is also beginning to create a legacy of its own despite its infancy. The tournament’s hospitality is first-class, the Korean culture is intriguing and Jeju Island provides a stunning backdrop which the stars of the game enjoy, both on and off the golf course.
The Korean tournament has also built itself a nice reputation of crowning champions who are the reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Thomas won the inaugural CJ CUP just weeks after concluding a stunning 2017 season which saw him become the FedExCup champion. Last October, Koepka enjoyed a magnificent victory in front of massive galleries after arriving as Player of the Year following a 2018 campaign which yielded two major victories.
Koepka, triumphant in Jeju by four strokes last year after a final back nine of 29, said: “I enjoy Asia … it’s one of my favourite spots to go on vacations. I always feel relaxed, and I like the culture. It’s always a fun place to go and everyone is very respectful and it’s a fun place to play. I felt it was important to win in Jeju especially after a year that I had. I had to back it up and the way I did was special. It was a good way to start the 2018-19 season. I like the place, and obviously I enjoy playing on the golf course.”
With October’s Asian swing events counting towards the 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season, accumulating early FedExCup points during the Fall schedule is a key motivation for players as well. The well-travelled Adam Scott of Australia expects to see many other top guns like Woods heading full speed to the Far East this year.
“They are great events,” enthused Scott. “I feel I have great fan support which is always fun when you go to a place and they support you. The tournaments are so good, they are smaller field and there are a lot of (FedExCup) points up for grabs. It’s important this year as more players will have to play more events towards the back end of the year. I’m sure there will be a balance of the guys who like to come to Asia to play and those who like to stay home. It’s going to be a good thing in regard to the strength of field for the tournaments in Asia.”
That said, October can’t come soon enough.
*Chuah Choo Chiang is senior director, communications of the PGA TOUR and is based in Kuala Lumpur
