Asian Tour CEO Burack praises “strategic alliance”

The Asian Tour’s new CEO Josh Burack said the body’s association with the European Tour will create more tournaments and opportunities for regional golfers, AFP reports.

The alliance was adopted after Asian players baulked at a proposed merger with the bigger tour, Burack stated.

The agreement was made in July, shortly after former Asia Tour CEO Mike Kerr, who had backed a full merger of playing memberships and business interests, handed over the reins to Burack last December.

“The alliance is a partnership that commits us to working more together,” Burack said in an interview at the $2 million Hong Kong Open, which is sanctioned by both tours.

“If the European tour puts a new tournament into Asia, they need to do it with us. That’s very important because it ensures that we maintain half the field for our players.

“And at the same time we work together to promote and market these new tournaments… We feel it’s a great option for the Asian tour.”

Last month the Asian Tour announced the first new tournament co-sanctioned with the European Tour, the Philippine Masters, which will take place from 2018 in a three-year deal.

Burack, who joined the Asian Tour in October, said it would be the first of several new events in the region.

“We will have at least one new tournament with the European Tour in 2017 as well in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) region,” he said.

“We have ambitions to have more tournaments with them in the years ahead. Last year we had seven co-sanctioned tournaments with the European Tour and our joint ambition is to grow that.”