Dear fans, players, and partners of the Asian Tour,
As we conclude 2024, I reflect on the season with immense satisfaction.
This year has taken us from Asia to the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and back again. We successfully hosted 21 events on the Asian Tour and 12 on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
We faced numerous challenges, including sandstorms, thunderstorms, typhoons, dense fog, strong winds, and extreme heat. There were many weather-related delays and last-minute shotgun starts to ensure events were completed. Despite these difficulties, we collectively managed to overcome them, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone involved in our 20th season on the Asian Tour.
The latter half of the year was particularly intense, culminating in a thrilling conclusion.
I extend special congratulations to John Catlin for winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit (OOM) and The Kyi Hla Han Award for Player of the Year; Itthipat Buranantanyarat for securing the ADT OOM with a decisive victory at the Aramco Invitational; and Max Lee for his remarkable year, highlighted by his impressive performance at the LIV Golf Promotions event that earned him a spot in the LIV Golf League for 2025.
The competition was fierce throughout the year, with Ben Campbell and Richard T. Lee making strong late pushes, alongside multiple title wins by Peter Uihlein and Suteepat Prateeptienchai, as well as notable performances from MJ Maguire.
On the ADT side, we witnessed standout performances from Ahmad Baig and Rahil Gangjee, along with a host of exciting new talents who earned their place on the Asian Tour.
I also want to take this opportunity to welcome our new members who qualified for the 2025 Asian Tour season at the recent Qualifying School in Hua Hin. It's always refreshing to see new faces join the Tour alongside some familiar ones returning.
A special mention goes to Stefano Mazzoli, who graduated from this year's class and received the Rookie of the Year Award; the Black Mountain Championship, recognized as Tournament of the Year; the Link Hong Kong Open, awarded The International Series Tournament of the Year; and Al Mouj Golf, which retained its title as Player’s Course of the Year.
Our Tour is gaining recognition, with a diverse array of nationalities and destinations that set us apart from other Tours worldwide. It is crucial for us to build on the momentum from the past two seasons and showcase our extensive talent pool to new audiences.
In 2024, we launched our “Time to Rise” campaign, making significant strides across our website, app, social media platforms, and events. Many members have taken advantage of cross-promotion through their own social media channels. It is vital that we continue collaborating with our fans, players, sponsors, and promoters to broaden our community outreach and develop initiatives that enhance our audience engagement.
There is no doubt that 2024 marked a period of transition for us, while 2025 will be focused on growth. Alongside ongoing digital development efforts, we will prioritize generating new business opportunities and expanding our commercial endeavors.
The 2025 season is approaching quickly with a return to the Philippines for the Philippine Open at Manila Southwoods. The following week will see the debut of the International Series India presented by DLF at a venue known for being one of golf's toughest challenges in the region. We also look forward to one of our favorite events—the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sports—and the second edition of the International Series Macau presented by Wynn in early 2025.
We are currently finalizing several events for Q2 before moving into a busy second half of the year from August through December. This year will feature some rotation in The International Series venues with a stronger focus on Asia before concluding in the Middle East as is tradition. We anticipate growth in event numbers this year across both the Asian Tour and ADT with exciting new partnerships underway—especially for ADT.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! We look forward to kicking off our Asian Tour and ADT seasons in Manila and Selangor.
Cho