PGA Tour broadens its Asian connections

The PGA Tour announced on Monday a partnership with the Asian Tour to host the first Asian Pacific Golf Classic in Malaysia next fall.

It will offer a $6 million purse ($1 million to the winner) and will be a 40-player event to which the top 25 FedEx Cup finishers will be invited as well as the top 10 players from the Asian Tour's Order of Merit and five sponsor exemptions.

The PGA Tour has been seeking ways to tap into the explosive growth of golf in Asia, to wit the HSBC Champions becoming a World Golf Championship event. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem also recently made an 18-day, five-city trip to Asia to meet with potential sponsors.

-- John Strege