ONEASIA TOUR TO HOLD Q SCHOOLS IN CALIFORNIA AND MALAYSIA

  NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ONEASIA TOUR

HONG KONG - OneAsia will hold two final stage Q-School tournaments next year -- including one in the United States -- because of unprecedented demand for places on the lucrative Asia-Pacific circuit.

Slots will be up for grabs in California from January 29 - February 1, and also in Sabah, Malaysia from February 5-8. 

"As we enter our fifth season, there has been phenomenal interest in OneAsia from around the world and we feel that holding one of our Q- School tournaments in the United States will satisfy that demand and also help promote the tour there," said Sang Y. Chun, OneAsia's Chairman and Commissioner.

"With our tournaments all offering a minimum purse of around one million dollars, it is hardly surprising that interest in OneAsia has spread outside the region. In just four years we have become a major golf brand with international recognition."

Chun said an increasing number of Asia-Pacific players were basing themselves on the U.S. western seaboard to go through the college system there or to take advantage of playing and coaching facilities not generally available in South Korea or northern China during winter.

Holding Q-School in the U.S. would give them the opportunity to qualify for OneAsia tournaments.

The U.S. Q-School will take place at the Industry Hills Golf Club at Pacific Palms, in Industry Hills, California, while the Malaysian event will be staged, as last year, at Sutera Harbour Golf Club in Kota Kinabalu.

 

OneAsia was founded four years ago by the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour and the PGA of Australia.

It has doubled in size since 2009, and the tour's elite suite of tournaments now includes the national Opens of Australia, China, South Korea and Thailand -- as well as numerous other prestigious events.

Chun said OneAsia's unique TV platform -- all tournaments are broadcast live for a minimum four hours a day to hundreds of millions of homes, clubs and offices around the world -- meant the tour's sponsors were getting an excellent return on their investment.

"A comprehensive traditional and social media platform -- including live web-streams of tournaments via a dedicated Youtube channel -- further enhances the profiles of  OneAsia's commercial partners,"  he added.

The winners of both Q-Schools are guaranteed starts at all OneAsia's tournaments in 2013, while those who finish second and third will likely get starts in most events.

Positions are then accorded alternatively between the Malaysian and U.S. Q-Schools and full details of the categories are available for download from here.

OneAsia's class of 2012 did particularly well this year, with American Garrett Sapp finishing 14th on the Order of Merit with earnings of nearly $90,000 from six events.

Other Q School graduates who finished in the top 50 and secured their cards for next year include Brazilian Lucas Lee and Jason Kang of the USA.

The first event of the 2013 season will be the U.S.$ 1 million Thailand Open from March 14-17. 
 The tournament is fully co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation with earnings counting for both money lists.

Full details and application forms (in English, Chinese and Korean) are available on the OneAsia website here.