The Asian Tour: A Competitor?
The PGA Tour has a direct competitor for its pipeline.
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Hey Golfers —
How is a professional developmental golf tour that hasn’t played an event in North America a competitor to the PGA Tour?
Let me explain.
The Asian Tour quietly announced its Q-School qualifying sites a few weeks ago. The most interesting site? Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Arizona.
It will be the first time the Asian Tour has held a Q-School site in the United States. From what I am hearing — the site filled up in one day.
The Asian Tour started making headlines about a year ago — when it announced a $300 million investment from LIV Golf. The $300 million investment is over ten years.
In 2019, the Asian Tour played 24 events and had an aggregate $25 million purse — or about $1 million per event. For context, the Korn Ferry Tour paid out less than $30 million in aggregate purse money last year.
With the new investment — the Asian Tour created a ten-event International Series. Purses range from $1.5 - $2 million for each event. It is likely those purses will increase in the future to around $3 million.
The Asian Tour takes care of players’ expenses during International Series events — a selling point to developmental tour players.
Food & Beverage
Player accommodations
Korn Ferry Tour events will increase to a minimum of $1 million per event in the 2023 season.
Here is a look at the Top Ten money list leaders from the Korn Ferry Tour and Asian Tour for the 2022 season.
Average earnings on each tour:
Korn Ferry Tour — $71,992
Asian Tour — $55,075
Entry fees for each Q-School:
Korn Ferry Tour — $6,500
Asian Tour — $2,450
LIV Golf’s strategy is crystal clear.
The investment into the Asian Tour seemed benign at the time. But they were setting the stage for a feeder tour into LIV Golf. The Asian Tour is now a direct competitor of the Korn Ferry Tour.
LIV Golf gets two major things with the Asian Tour.
Access to a pipeline of players
Allows its players an opportunity for OWGR points
It is rumored that Asian Tour players will play for exemption(s) into LIV Golf — the number of exemptions is unclear. But the process will be very similar to how Korn Ferry Tour golfers play for exemptions to the PGA Tour.
So how does the Asian Tour compete with the PGA Tour?
It is estimated that over 70% of PGA Tour players once played on the Korn Ferry Tour. The Korn Ferry Tour is the pipeline to the PGA Tour.
For perspective — seven of the top ten PGA Tour money list leaders from last year played at least one season on the Korn Ferry Tour. The three others?
Cameron Smith
Rory McIlroy
Matt Fitzpatrick
The Asian Tour sticking a Q-school site in the United States is a direct shot at the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour. The Asian Tour is now competing for pipeline talent. And talent is necessary for the future of the PGA Tour — it sells media and sponsorship deals.
I talked to mini-tour king Ryan French of The Fire Pit Collective to get his thoughts on the Asian Tour placing a Q-School site in the United States. Here is what he had to say.
I think this is the most underreported side of the LIV Golf and PGA Tour battle. LIV Golf is making the Asian Tour their Korn Ferry Tour — it is a huge development. And the Asian Tour offers larger purses than the Korn Ferry Tour.
LIV Golf’s strategy to procure talent has been shock and awe — paying big money to big names — providing a quicker impact to the world of golf. The Asian Tour’s strategy to acquire talent (funded by LIV) is methodical and strategic. If it has an impact on the PGA Tour — it won’t be felt for years. But the Asian Tour, in my opinion, is a bigger threat than what the PGA Tour is currently seeing with talent leaving for LIV Golf.
The talent pipeline is the most important piece of the PGA Tour’s future success or failure — the PGA Tour must protect it.
Have yourself a great Monday. Talk to you next week!
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The obvious question is whether American players will actually want to play in Asia rather than in the United States if the money is at all similar on the KFT. Consider travel costs, time away from family, courses, culture. Language, food. And, of course, there is the underlying issue of the long term viability of the LIV Tour, especially if it is not sanctioned for WGR points. I still think the best American players will choose the KFT pipeline as the path to a long term career.