International golf officials have announced a major new tournament for Asian amateurs with the winner earning a coveted spot at next year's US Masters.
The winner of the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship, to be played at China's Mission Hills from October 29 to November 1, will also go through to final qualifying for the 2010 British Open, they said in a joint announcement.
"The tournament will positively impact the game for years and we hope for generations to come," said Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) chairman Tommy Lee.
The event, announced by the Royal and Ancient golf club and the US Masters, along with the APGC, was billed as a big boost for amateurs in Asia, where the sport is growing quickly.
The 72-hole stroke-play tournament, at the giant Mission Hills complex in southern China, will have a maximum field of 120 amateurs from the APGC's 32 member associations, which stretch from Iran to the Pacific islands.
Selection will be based on the R&A's world amateur golf rankings, with the top two ranked players from each country qualifying plus the top four from the hosts.
The rest of the field will be drawn from the next highest ranked players with a maximum of six from each country except the host, the APGC said.
The tournament will be played in a different country each year, with the 2010 event scheduled to be held in Japan.
Lee said the APGC would rotate the tournament around Asia because of his organisation's "duty to represent all of its 32 members."
US Masters chairman Billy Payne said Mission Hills had been chosen as the amateur championship's inaugural venue because it had been at the forefront of efforts to promote golf in Asia.
"If we wanted to inspire the youth of Asia to play golf then we have to start with Mission Hills," Payne said.
The costs of the championship will be underwritten by the Royal and Ancient and the Masters, both of whom believe golf has huge growth potential in the region.
R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said golf "is not immune" to the current world economic problems.
"But, thanks to the commercial success of the [British] Open we are very fortunate to be able to make such a financial commitment without much fear for the future," he said.
Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition
