OneAsia opens Q-School on US western seaboard
Since there are many Asian golfers based on the west coast, OneAsia has decided to cater to their growing needs by hosting a qualifying school in California.
Sang Y. Chun, Chairman and Commissioner of OneAsia, said, "As we enter our fifth season, there has been phenomenal interest in OneAsia from around the world and we feel that holding one of our Q-School tournaments in the United States will satisfy that demand.
"With our tournaments all offering a minimum purse of around $1 million, it is hardly surprising that interest in OneAsia has spread outside the region. In just four years we have become a major golf brand with international recognition".
OneAsia began with an early collaboration between five giants in the region namely Korea Golf Association, Korea Golf Tour, China Golf Association, and Professional Golf Association of Australia.
OneAsia teed off for the first time in 2009 with as few as five events but Chairman Sang Y. Chun explained it has had a meteoric ascent to the top echelons of international recognition.
The Japanese Tour has announced its intention to co-sanction the Thailand Open and the Indonesia Professional Golf Association Championship with OneAsia – a move much praised.
Such collaborations, as it is hoped, bring to amateur golfers the experience of facing off opponents from overseas.
A partial schedule for May 2013 has also been announced with tournaments in China and South Korea.
Japanese veterans, like Shingo Katayama, have been first to hail the decision, as well as OneAsia, calling it a tour de force in influencing Asian golf, especially in the Sino-Japanese region.
“I hope more tournaments will be held so that more young players will have the chance to compete against the players from overseas,” said Katayama.
Organizers chose Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms, California, as the site for the Qualifying School because it made sense.
A large number of Asia-Pacific players attend college in California, so the city, as well as perhaps the western seaboard in its entirety, would make for sensible planning.
Besides, most Korean and northern Chinese facilities have to shut down during harsher winters because of inoperability, so the word went.
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