Asian Tour starts dream of more major recognition

WASHINGTON, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China's Liang Wenchong and JeevMilkha Singh are hoping that strong performances at the Masters Tournament will open direct entries for Asian Tour stars to compete in the U.S. Open and U.S. PGA Championship in the future.

They believe that rising standards of play in Asia should pave the way for greater opportunities in the two Majors. The Masters Tournament, being played at Augusta National this week, has traditionally invited Asian players while the British Open offers an exemption to the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.

"On behalf of the Asian players, I want to thank Augusta National for the opportunity to play at the Masters. In giving us the opportunity, it is my opinion that the Masters Tournament has recognized what the Asian Tour has done for the development of golf in Asia," said Liang.

"Hopefully, the other Majors will also recognize what the Asian Tour is doing for the players and the development of golf and offer the same opportunity for Asians to play.

"Every Major has its own rules and qualifying criteria and I respect that. What the Masters Tournament and British Open have done is tremendous as they recognize the efforts and playing records of Asian Tour members," said Liang.

The 29-year-old Liang became the first Chinese to claim the Asian Tour's Order of Merit last season following one victory and eight top-10s. His outstanding season earned him a special invitation to the Masters, the year's first Major, and a direct entry to the British Open in July.

The United States Golf Association, guardians of the U.S. Open, and PGA of America, who runs the PGA Championship, presently do not have direct exemptions for Asian Tour members.

"We certainly have good players from Asia. As a representative of the Asian Tour, I like to do my best this week to show what Asian players are capable of. I'm only able to play at this level because of the Asian Tour," said Liang.

Singh qualified for the Masters last season by being in the world's top-50 after a remarkable 2006 season where he won four times around the world and became Asia's number one. He was invited back for this week's Masters and said it would be a shot in the arm for the Asian Tour if the U.S. Open and PGA Championship offered similar invitations or exemptions to Asians.

"Every tournament has their own rules and it's up to them to make a decision. But I would love to see that happen for the Asian Tour players because it's a global sport now. If that happens, it will be great for Asia," said Singh, who finished tied 37th in last year's Masters.

The Indian said that it was creditable for Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, who was the third Asian invited for the Masters, to finish in 72nd place on the Official World Golf Ranking last season through his achievements on the Asian Tour and in Japan, which receive fewer world ranking points compared to events in Europe and U.S..

"I believe that's why Prayad is given the invite to the Mastersas they recognize that he played well last season and it's great to see," said Singh.

Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han lauded Augusta National's decision to invite leading Asians to the Masters, saying it was another testament of the growing stature of the game in the region.

"We truly appreciate what Augusta National has done through the years in extending invitations to Asian players to compete the Masters. The British Open offers an exemption to our Order of Merit champion and we hope the growing strength of the Asian Tour will pave the way for our players to gain direct entries into the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the near future," said Han.