Nicklaus pins hopes for growth on Asia
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus said yesterday that Asia will drive future growth of the game as it gains in popularity throughout the region and Asian players continue to improve.
"The Asian Tour will continue to grow and Asian players will continue to get better," Nicklaus said a day before tee-off at the $500,000 Pine Valley Beijing Open.
"Asia is the place where the most growth will come from and there will be more young players being introduced to the game here than in any other place by comparison to what we have seen in the past."
"I have seen a lot more good (Asian) players now than from the time when I was playing.... it just shows that the game is going to continue to grow in Asia. It's not going to stop."
Golf is expanding particularly rapidly in China as the country's dramatic economic growth allows more time for leisure pursuits.
After formally opening the second of two golf courses he designed at Pine Valley, the 18-time Major winner said it was only a matter of time before Chinese players' names are seen on the leader boards of major world tournaments.
"There's no question. There are a great number of people (in China) who will play golf, and there will be many golfers from China that will be very successful on the world tour," said Nicklaus, who at 67 no longer competes.
Nicklaus said the sport's physical requirements bode well for Chinese players.
"There have been many good Chinese athletes in every sport and golf is probably a very, very good sport for the Chinese in terms of stature and size. Golf depends more on quickness than on size," he said.
"There's no real reason why (Chinese athletes) won't do well on the golf course. It will just take time for the game to develop in this country and bring along the young people."
AFP
(China Daily 04/26/2007 page22)
