Tim Finchem goes on 10-day tour of China to promote PGA Tour
It’s not only the likes of Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer, and Phil Mickelson who are in China this week, but PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem as well.
While the top four golfers in the world are being joined by 76 others for the HSBC Champions Event in Shanghai, Finchem is on a 10-day tour of the country to deepen the PGA Tour’s relationship
with the China Golf Association.
The HSBC Champions event is partly sanctioned by the PGA Tour as was the inaugural CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, contested last week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This week’s tournament in Shanghai
will count as an official PGA Tour victory if the winner is a member of the tour while both events count towards world ranking points.
The proliferation of PGA Tour events in Asia is part of a conscientious effort to promote the game worldwide. While Finchem wasn’t crystal-clear on the PGA Tour’s future involvement with
golf in Asia, he does expect more events in this part of the world one day.
“We will be playing some more,” he said. “It’s premature to characterize it as what it will be. In today’s world, there’s lots of different ways for it to happen. If it’s a reasonably-sized
event, sanctioned appropriately, it can get world ranking points.”
And it’s not only China that Finchem is focusing on.
“We’ll be meeting with some entities about a couple of tournaments we’re looking at in China in a couple of years. We’ll also be meeting in China with groups from two or three other countries
about additional activities.”
With Westwood surpassing Woods to become the number-one ranked player in the world earlier this week, the Shanghai tournament could produce some fireworks with the top four players in
the rankings all with a chance to become number one. The top of the rankings is so tight that had Steve Stricker or Jim Furyk made the trip to Shanghai, they too could have been number one after this week.
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