OneAsia's Shandong tourney called off
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The maiden Shandong Gold Cup tournament has been withdrawn from OneAsia's 2010 schedule and postponed, the tour said yesterday.
The event, with a prize purse of US$1 million, had been scheduled to take place at the Guyun Lake International Golf Club in Shandong Province from October 21-24.
"There have been some specific concerns raised about scheduling and timing of the Shandong Gold Cup from a local government and venue perspective," a tour spokeswoman said. "As we would like to ensure that the quality of OneAsia events, and work with our sponsors to enhance these events, we have decided to postpone the tournament till further notice."
The postponement leaves OneAsia with 10 tournaments in China, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia in its second year.
The tour, driven by the Australian PGA with the support of the Chinese and South Korean governing bodies, was launched last year with five tournaments and aims to provide an elite platform for Asia-Pacific golfers. It is fiercely opposed by the established Asian Tour, which has accused OneAsia of stealing its events and has sanctioned players who take part in its tournaments.
Meanwhile, Asian golf bodies have welcomed the US$6 million Singapore Open's move to expand its field and allow more golfers from the region a tilt at glory.
The tournament, Asian richest national Open, will boast an increased field of 204 for the November 11-14 event, which will this year be headed by Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott.
Sponsors Barclays have ramped the prize money up by US$1 million as organizers announced that 32 positions would be allocated to players from local tours.
"Being one of the bigger tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region, I think it's great that it's opened up and become more representative of all of the different golfing organizations within the region," Max Garske, CEO of the PGA Tour of Australasia said yesterday. "I think it's a very positive move and we're delighted that it gives some of our players a chance to go and play there."
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