MAJOR RUMBLE IN MACAU
Major winners Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell adds star power to the International Series Macau presented by Wynn.
The Asian Tour’s remarkable period of accelerated growth will continue unabated in 2024 after it recently released another impressive and substantial schedule for the new season.
Hot on the heels of the completion of its 2023 season, the Tour has unveiled an initial schedule of 20 strong events across 12 countries – with a significant number of important tournaments to be added.
Once finalised it is expected that the schedule will surpass last year– which saw 23 events staged with total prize money of US$35 million.
Irishman Graeme McDowell continues his longevity in the game on the LIV Golf tour having won his one and only major at the 2010 US Open.
The IRS Prima Malaysian Open will celebrate its return to the schedule after a four-year hiatus by becoming the season-opening event and will be played at The Mines Resort and Golf Club, from 15-18 February. The event was last played in 2020, when American Trevor Simsby triumphed.
It will be followed the week after by the International Series Oman – the first of 10 International Series events in 2024, which provide a pathway to the multi-million-dollar LIV Golf League.
International Series events will be played in Macau (International Series Macau presented by Wynn, 14-17 March), Morocco (4-7 July), Indonesia (31 October – 3 November), and Qatar (28 November 28 – 1 December).
The Hong Kong Open will once again be part of The International Series, and making its debut on the series will be the PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers, which was the Tour’s opening event in 2022 and 2023. Both events will be in Q4. The dates will be announced later along with the details of three more International Series tournaments.
The Tour will also once again return to two of its traditional tournament strongholds, Korea and Chinese-Taipei.
2017 Masters Champion
Sergio Garcia will bring his swashbuckling skills to Macau.
Three events will be played in each market, with the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (2-5 May), Kolon Korea Open (20-23 June) and Shinhan Donghae Open (5-8 September) staged in Korea; while the Yeangder TPC (26-29 September), Mercuries Taiwan Masters (3-6 October) and Taiwan Glass Taifong Open (14-17 November) will be hosted in Chinese-Taipei.
The New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport (29 February – 31 March), the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund (17-20 April) and the SJM Macao Open (10-13 October) are also back on the schedule.
“The strength and depth of the Asian Tour’s 2024 schedule is reflective of the phenomenal growth we have been enjoying and we are already excited about what the new year will bring,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO, Asian Tour.
“Importantly, we are delighted to confirm the schedule so soon after the completion of our 2023 season, which will allow our members to plan accordingly and act as an enormous incentive to those heading to Qualifying School.
“The International Series events combined with our central column of established tournaments form the backbone of the Tour while we look forward to being able to announce other premier events in due course.”
The Asian Development Tour schedule will be released later in 2024 and will feature an expanded line-up of tournaments, for what is the Asian Tour’s constantly evolving feeder circuit.
