Golden Bear Retaining A Bullish Outlook For Decade Ahead


Orlando (January 13): Less than three months after wooing his audience at the Asia Pacific Golf Summit in Kuala Lumpur, the Golden Bear remains bullish on golf’s growth in the new decade. Speaking to reporters, in a revival of his old 'State of the Bear' press conferences, Jack Nicklaus said: “You’re going to see a tremendous growth in the game of golf over the next seven to eight years particularly.” Nicklaus expects much of that growth to occur internationally in 'underdeveloped golf markets', such as China, India and Russia. In the latter he will begin designing three courses this spring.

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Super Swede Stenson Spots The Royal Trophy Difference


Bangkok (January 11): Henrik Stenson admits his third Royal Trophy appearance was full of shocks - even though he emerged as Europe's match-winning hero yet again. The ice-cool Swede holed the decisive putt against Asia on the 18th green in the final match on the course, following up his winning putts in the same event in 2006 and in his Ryder Cup debut the same year. Stenson said: "When I was here in 2007 we allowed the Asian team only 3 1/2 points out of a possible 16. This time we were just a couple of inches away from a play-off - the space between Thongchai Jaidee's putt and the hole when his ball came to rest."

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Augusta National Return Looking Less Likely For Woods


Orlando (January 7): Insiders say Tiger Woods doesn’t know when he will return to competition. But the more US PGA Tour people with whom I talk, the more I sense Woods might not return by the Masters. I’m surprised I just typed that last sentence. Until this week, I had subscribed to the notion he would return in March and play a Florida tune-up or two before heading to Augusta National. Following a sex scandal that turned him into a punch line and punching bag, Woods announced in early December that he’d be taking an indefinite leave. A month later, everyone’s still guessing about the timetable because he’s not talking and his camp is in more tight-lipped lockdown than usual. There are two primary schools of thought: One, he’ll return in March and get ready for the Masters and continue his chase toward Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major championships. Two, he won’t play at all in 2010.

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Kingdom Of Thailand: Asia's Premier Golf Destination


Bangkok (January 6): Golf and travel industry experts from Hong Kong to Malaga to London to Kuala Lumpur have singled out Thailand as Asia’s premier golf and holiday destination. Many cited 'Golf in a Kingdom: The Thai Travel Experience', as a promotional driver behind the country’s continued primacy for golf holiday-makers originating from North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The country's reputation as the epicentre of golf in Southeast Asia will be underlined this year with the staging of the inaugural Southeast Asia/India Golf Merchandise Expo (April 30-May 2) and the Asia Pacific Golf Summit (October 18-20), which will include keynote addresses from Greg Norman and Annika Sorenstam.

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Swede Karlsson Predicting Tough Royal Assignment For Europeans


Bangkok (January 5): Robert Karlsson flew into Thailand for his second Royal Trophy appearance, expecting a much tougher assignment than the last time he lined up against Asia. Karlsson was a member of the European team that scored a convincing victory in the 2007 match - but admitted he was not too surprised to hear Asia had turned the tables last year with a memorable 10-6 triumph. He explained: “I have been telling everyone that we need to have the strongest possible team this week because Asian golf has been making massive strides."

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Exciting Calendar Of Golfing Events For Asia In 2010


Singapore (January 3): Welcome to a New Year! To be sure, there are dozens of golfing events that will capture the attention in the coming 12 months. On the professional front, we have the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and OneAsia Tour each vying for the high ground, while it will also be a big year for the region’s leading amateurs, culminating in the World Amateur Championships in Argentina and Guangzhou’s Asian Games. To tee-off 2010, Asian Golf Monthly goes through this year’s calendar and selects one golfing event each month that is sure to make its mark.

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