Asian Tour encompassing the Middle East in 2023

The Asian Tour has unveiled its 2023 schedule through to May, for what promises to be the finest start to a season the tour has ever enjoyed.

The new season will commence in Saudi Arabia, at the most lucrative event of the year, before being followed by an exciting blend of established and new tournaments, including four International Series events.

The schedule through to May boasts a total of 11 tournaments contested over 14 weeks, starting with the $US5 million Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, near Jeddah, from February 2-5.

In the ensuing two weeks, the tour will journey to two inaugural International Series tournaments in Oman and then Qatar – marking the first time the International Series will have visited the Middle East. Al Mouj Golf will host the former event, while Doha Golf Club will stage the latter.

These will be the first of 10 International Series events in 2023, with International Series stops to follow in Thailand in March and Vietnam the following month.

The International Series Thailand launched the International Series in 2022 and saw American Kim Sih-wan triumph at Black Mountain Golf Club, while the tour visits the spectacular KN Golf Links for the first edition of the Vietnam event. It will be the first time the Asian Tour has returned to Vietnam in seven years.

The New Zealand Open, presented by Sky Sport, makes a popular return to the calendar following a two-year covid-19 enforced break in the first week of March at Millbrook Resort in Arrowtown – the tournament’s home since 2014.

The DGC Open, inaugurated in the 2022 season, will also be staged in March at the historic Delhi Golf Club, as well as the tour’s long-awaited return to Hong Kong with a new event at one of the region’s most iconic golfing venues, the Hong Kong Golf Club.

Details of this event will be released soon, along with information on back-to-back tournaments in Thailand in April and a Korean event in May.

Asian tour commissioner and chief executive Cho Minn Thant said: “We are very proud to announce the start of the 2023 season, hot off the heels of a tremendous 2022. It is fantastic to see us carry the momentum of the season we have just completed and start the new season at full pace.

“The Asian Tour is thrilled with how the schedule looks. It reaches a wide range of exciting destinations, offers extremely lucrative purses, world class venues, and a great balance of established and new events.

“The Saudi International, a truly global golfing event, is the perfect way to start the season and sets the tone for what will be, unquestionably, the strongest season in the history of the Asian Tour.”

The 2022 season, which saw 20 tournaments staged, came to a dramatic conclusion in December in Indonesia where Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut stormed to victory, while Kim Sih-wan secured the Asian Tour order of merit title.

Oman tournament added to Asian Tour schedule

Helping to whet the appetite for the 2023 season, the Asian Tour has announced the addition of a new, exciting event to its schedule, the International Series Oman.

With event details having been finalised and ahead of an imminent fuller schedule announcement, the Asian Tour has confirmed that the Oman tournament will be held at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat from February 9-12 and boast prizemoney of $US2 million.

Al Mouj Golf in Muscat.Getty Images File .

In addition, the tour revealed that a total of 10 International Series events will be held next season, each with prize money of at least $US2 million – helping to build on the momentum gained this season, which saw seven of the upper-tier events positioned on the schedule, which features a total of 20 tournaments.

Asian Tour chief executive Cho Minn Thant last month said: “On the back of two outstanding weeks at International Series events in Morocco and Egypt, and this week’s season-ending Indonesian Masters, also part of the International Series, the Asian Tour is excited to announce we will return to the Middle East early in the new season for the International Series Oman.

“The 2022 campaign was a highly successful one for us and it is great to see the profile of the Asian Tour being raised. Next year promises more of the same with today’s news further enhancing this, even before we have announced our 2023 schedule – one that promises to be the biggest and best in the history of the tour.

“We are extremely grateful to the Oman Golf Association for being the conduit in helping to launch this pioneering new event in such an important golfing region. And, of course, we thank Al Mouj Golf for their commitment and support in this process. We have every confidence that the event will be a resounding success.”

With one season drawing to a conclusion – which has also seen International Series events played in Thailand, England, Singapore, and Korea – attention is quickly starting to turn to the next one.

Mundhir Al Barwani, chairman of the Oman Golf Association, said: “We are excited to be the first Asian Tour International Series event in the Middle East and to be able to share the beauty of the Sultanate with the players and officials, as well as a wider audience through television.

“Al Mouj Golf is a tour-proven course and coupled with the proximity to the airport and the official hotel we are certain that the players will have an enjoyable and memorable week with us.

“We commend the work that the Asian Tour have done in developing their international schedule and also in strengthening the Asian Development Tour, which will certainly have a positive impact on the growth of the elite amateur game within the region.

“We look forward to working closely with the key stakeholders and sponsors to deliver this event and to once again use the game of golf to showcase the investment and tourism opportunities that exist within Oman.”

The International Series was launched this year, through a partnership between the Tour and LIV Golf, with the aim of invigorating the game of golf in Asia, the Middle East and beyond.

Al Mouj Golf will offer the Asian Tour membership an outstanding opportunity to play on one of the finest golf courses in the Middle East.

The 18-hole layout is the first links-style golf course to be created in Oman and was designed by two-time Major champion Norman. Built on a two-kilometre stretch of pristine coastline, it is flanked by the Indian Ocean with the stunning Hajjar mountain range in the background. Natural dunes, striking oasis of lush green grass, accented with bunkers, and water hazards are also features.

American tops Asian Tour order of merit

On the day he turned 34, American Kim Sihwan completed the finest season of his 11-year professional career when he wrapped up the Asian Tour order of merit title.

Caption: American golfer Kim Sihwan who topped the Asian Tour order of merit for 2022.

Kim finished equal 28th in the Asian Tour’s season-ending Indonesian Masters which was good enough from him to repel a number of players in with a chance of catching him.

He finished the year with $US627,458.33 in earnings. Korean Kim Bi-o ended in second place (US$599,609.49) with Zimbabwean Scott Vincent third (US$517,845).

“It feels good. Finally the season’s done and I can’t wait to get some rest,” Kim said after the Indonesian tournament.

“It’s been a long week with restarts and stuff like that. I’ve been travelling a lot, this is my 28th event of the year and I think my body needs some rest. I felt it today where my whole body was off sync and just couldn’t get anything done.

“Of course [finishing first] was on my mind. But I tried to not let that get to me too much. I was struggling with my putting all week and barely made the cut after my Saturday restart.''

Kim started the season in brilliant fashion, winning the International Series Thailand in February – his maiden professional victory and the first International Series event.

He followed that up by winning the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge, also in Thailand, in April.

A mid-season loss of form, when he was battling some swing demons and a stray driver, saw him relinquish top spot on the Order of Merit to Kim Bi-o but a third-place finish in last month’s International Series Egypt saw him regain first place.

Prior to this year, Kim had been a perennial nearly man. He’d recorded eight top-four results on the Asian Tour since 2018, including two runner-up finishes, and had come close to winning on Europe’s Challenge Tour.