By Kang Seung-woo
The Korean men’s professional golf tour is likely to need help from its fellow organizations to start the 2012 season amid its search for a new chief.
Worse still, the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA) has yet to release a full schedule for the year, raising concerns over a shortened season.
The KPGA usually opens the season with a local event inviting about 140 Korean golfers in April but the Ballantine’s Championship, scheduled for April 26 to 29 at the Blackstone Golf Club in Gyeonggi Province, is likely to be the first tournament this year on the men’s tour.
However the tournament, established in 2008, is jointly sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korean Golf Tour, so only 40 Korean golfers can vie for the 2.2-million-euro prize money because the field will include more than 100 high-profile golfers from Europe and the United States.
The 2011 season started with the Twayair Open, but it has since been cancelled and the KPGA has failed to find a sponsor to replace the low-cost airline.
Following the Ballantine’s Championship, will be the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and SK Telecom Open in May, but those two tournaments are also co-hosted with the Asian Tour, meaning only half of each event will be filled with Korean golfers, around 60 to 70 of them.
Although those who ranked high on last year’s money list may take the field from next month, those who stood at the bottom of the rankings will need to wait until May to compete.
Last year, a total of 18 tournaments took place on the Korean Tour, but the KPGA expects to see the number decrease this season.
To date, nine tournaments have been confirmed, four of which will invite players from the bottom of the list.
“Players who have not qualified for overseas tournaments as well as those who sat low on the money list last year are unlikely to participate in any event for the present time,” said an official of a professional corporate-sponsored golf club.
The current situation is attributed to the absence of a KPGA head.
In November, former professional golfer Lee Myung-ha was selected as interim chairman to replace the outgoing Park Sam-koo, promising to bring a new figure from outside golf circles but he has failed to find a replacement.
In order to put the problem to rest, the KPGA plans to hold a general meeting on March 29 to pick a new chairman and finalize the full schedule.
Currently, former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo and Jeon Yun-churl, a former chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, are among the candidates.