MANILA: The OneAsia circuit, assumed to be dead in the water after the China Golf Association (CGA) returned to the Asian Tour in March 2017, has not quite given up the ghost yet.
Asia’s sanctioning body previously co-sanctioned and staged tournaments with the CGA from 1995 until 2008 before the OneAsia circuit broke away in 2009 as a joint venture between the PGA Tour of Australasia, the CGA, the Korean Golf Association and the Korean PGA.
On Friday, OneAsia announceed that it had joined as the co-sanctioning body for the Solaire Philippine Open from 28th February to 3rd March. “This is an ideal relaunch into the region and will be a perfect launchpad for its development,” a statement from OneAsia reads.
“We welcome OneAsia as a key partner of the Solaire Philippine Open,” said ICTSI chairman and president, Ricky Razon. “The partnership comes at an opportune time when we are marking the Centennial staging of Asia’s oldest National Open and OneAsia is re-launching its branding.”
The Solaire Philippine Open was first held in 1913 and is also Asia’s oldest golf tournament.
Kuma Krishna Muthuraja, president & CEO of OneAsia, said: “It is imperative that we put OneAsia back where it belongs at the top of Asian Golf. We have some of the best talent in the world and want to nurture this to give our players the opportunities and environment to thrive. With a development tour also taking place this year, 2018 will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Asian Golf and it is our honour to be invited to co-sanction the Solaire Philippine Open.”
OneAsia also announced a new look; with a fresh logo and website, to begin to regain its grasp on the world of Asian golf.
