Yangon: Reigning number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand got the Asian Tour\u2019s 10th season underway at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Alpine this morning, with the Tour\u2019s Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han hailing it as a \u201cgreat moment in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s premier Tour, which was launched as a players\u2019 organisation in 2004 similar to the PGA Tour and European Tour, is celebrating 10 years of excellence throughout 2013.<\/p>\n
Han said: \u201cIt\u2019s a great moment in Asia. It has been a fantastic past nine years and golf is booming over here. The interest level in golf is high and we are looking forward to our next 10 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started out in 2004, we offered over US$12 million in total prize money and now, it\u2019s US$44 million plus every year and growing. It\u2019s been a big move forward for the Asian Tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Tour supremo was delighted to see three of the Tour\u2019s leading stars get the historic occasion underway at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club. Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit and Singaporean ace Mardan Mamat were in the opening match alongside Thaworn, who holds a record 15 Asian Tour wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cThaworn has been one of the leading stalwarts of the Asian Tour over the years and he deserves the honour of hitting the first shot of our 10th season. It is also fantastic to see Boonchu still going at it as he struck our first tee shot in 2004 while Mardan was one of our early board members when we first launched the Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese days, it is also great to see young players coming through and it is a good opportunity for them to establish their careers. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, professional golf was a tough career but now, it can be very good for the guys,\u201d said Han, who was Asia\u2019s number one in 1999.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to try to travel abroad to try to play with the top players but these days, the top players are coming over to Asia to play in our tournaments which reflects our appeal. This will help further develop our players and give them the opportunity to beat them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to continue developing world-beaters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only did Thaworn hit the opening drive, he also made the first birdie of the Asian Tour\u2019s 10th season on the 10th green.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yangon: Reigning number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand got the Asian Tour\u2019s 10th season underway at the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Alpine this morning, with the Tour\u2019s Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han hailing it as a \u201cgreat moment in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n
The region\u2019s premier Tour, which was launched as a players\u2019 organisation in 2004 similar to the PGA Tour and European Tour, is celebrating 10 years of excellence throughout 2013.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n