If major men's golf could ever expand to include a fifth major championship, Asia, the game's fastest-growing market, would be a fitting place to host it.
Asian Tour chief executive Mike Kerr agrees, and said Tuesday his tour has plans to develop a tournament to rival the four majors in Asia within five years.
“Yes, I think we can have an iconic event in Asia," Kerr said, according to AFP. "There are some plans that we have that we're already in the market talking about. We're working on it ... let's say definitely within the next three to five (years).”
“I'm not sure whether it would ever be confirmed as a major or supported in that way but I think there certainly is room for an iconic event in Asia that would be at a similar level to a major event, which the players can support and which we can build up over time," he added.
Several Asian events have already been billed as "Asia's major," including the $7 million WGC-HSBC Champions, set to become an official PGA Tour event in 2013.
Kerr, who took the job in March, was laying out his plan for the Asian Tour to pass the European Tour as the world's second-best tour in 10 years' time. The Asian Tour has 26 events this season; Kerr hopes to increase that number to 40 in a decade while increasing purse sizes.
The new man at the helm of the Asian Tour believes the game's next great phenom will come from Asia and, he hopes, his tour.
“I think you'll probably find that we will get that Asian McIlroy," Kerr said. "I think the next Rory McIlroy probably will come from this part of the world."
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