Leach and, by de facto, the European Tour, is clearly confident about the tour’s future in China, which is underlined by recent business developments away from the fairways. The tour’s Chinese-language website has seen an upsurge in online purchases in recent times, and a flagship store, featuring high-end apparel – RMB599 for a Ryder Cup-themed polo shirt anyone? – is planned to open in Beijing later this year.
The European Tour – spearheaded by CEO Keith Pelley, a media-savvy Canadian, since 2015 – has reputedly grand plans for expansion in order to compete with the PGA Tour in the coming years, but whether that includes the Asian Tour, the planned merger of which has reportedly fallen through, is not yet clear. China, it seems, is very much a part of those expansion plans, regardless.
“Over the next five years I see us solidifying our position in China – building up events and also developing business around those events,” said Leach. “We hope the Chinese players emerging now will push forward and help the market. The objective is to get one more tournament for the main tour – likely in Tianjin – and hopefully play that on the back of the Shenzhen International and the Volvo China Open – and to see those events grow commercially.
“The sport will grow here. There will be new rules and guidelines but these will help facilitate that growth. The future is bright."
