RP Open champ sets sights on new Asian D-Tour

Newly-crowned Philippine Open champion Elmer Salvador received a bit of a good news as the Asian Tour is set to launch the Asian Development Tour next year with a minimum of six tournaments aiming to create a co-platform for emerging Asian stars. Initiated by the Asian Tour, the official sanctioning body for professional tournament golf in the region, the Asian D-Tour will allow players who do not have full playing status on the Asian Tour via the Qualifying School to hone their games and talent through a secondary circuit in Asia.

However, since Salvador was not able to join the Asian Tour Q-School, he is hoping good friend Angelo Que can help him join the Asian D-Tour. “It will be a great experience for me if I could join there," said Salvador, who is still ecstatic after his win over Guido Van der Valk of the Netherlands in a down-the-wire duel at the Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club Saturday. The Asian D-Tour will kick off with the $75,000 Air Bagan Myanmar Masters 2010 at the Pun Hlaing Golf Course in Yangon from Jan. 28-31, 2010, with other legs being finalized in the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and India. The Asian D-Tour will be structured along the lines of the Nationwide Tour in the United States and the European Challenge Tour and a minimum of three players at the end of the Asian Development Tour season will gain playing status on the Asian Tour on the proceeding year. According to Kyi Hla Han, Asian Tour executive chairman, the Asian Development Tour intends to "greatly enhance and accelerate the playing standards amongst players who compete in the region." “We are working closely with regional golf bodies to assemble new and existing tournaments with prize money ranging from between US$60,000 to US$150,000," he said. “These events will give the current second-tier players on the Asian Tour the opportunity to cut their professional teeth and become better players. At present, there are many young players across the region who do not have direct entry onto the elite Asian Tour and the Development Tour will create the platform for them to gain the necessary playing experience through a competitive environment," he added. Ultimately, Han said the aim is for the Asian D-Tour to become “the breeding ground for new stars to emerge and compete against the top players from across Asia." – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV