China 'back in bed' with golf tours, says Asia CEO

China has jumped "back in bed" with international golf federations in a bid to help the country's players flourish, according to the CEO of Asia's leading tour. The move to open China's tournaments up to the likes of the PGA Tour, European Tour and Asian Tour will create a busy calendar in a country long viewed as a giant potential market, said Josh Burack, chief executive officer of the Asian Tour.
"The China Golf Association has actually welcomed all the tours to come in and co-sanction (tournaments) with them because they've adopted a very universal approach - that they want to work with as many partners as possible," he told AFP at the Hong Kong Open. "That's why you suddenly see them back in bed with the PGA Tour, you see them co-sanctioning events with European Tour and European Challenge Tour, and now we've come back in and have sanctioned events there again."
Burack added: "At the end of the day they, like us, need to create those playing opportunities for their players to flourish, and they're doing that now." China has long been hailed as an important future market for golf and has produced players such as Zhang Lianwei, Liang Wenchong, Wu Ashun and Li Haotong, who have all won on the European Tour. After a nine-year absence, the Asian Tour returns to mainland China next week in the city of Xiamen. The Tour's 2018 schedule, released on Friday, includes at least two tournaments planned for the country.
The US PGA Tour also announced last month that it would relaunch its own expansion tour in China next year. The circuit will run alongside the China Tour, which was recently created by the China Golf Association. It is all a far cry from a time when the Communist country banned golf under Mao Zedong, who considered it elitist. "There was a period a few years back where there was a lot of news about the Chinese government trying to rein in golf and expenditure with their officials," said Burack. "I think that has passed now."