The Asian Tour has completed a shake-up of its executive team and board in the wake of the resignation of now-former chief executive Mike Kerr.
As GNN reported Dec. 6, Kerr resigned at the tail end of November in the wake of a loss of player confidence and trust following his decision to pursue a merger with the European Tour. Players, particularly from Thailand, were vocal with concerns that such a merger would hurt Asian Tour players and their access to events. A number of players also voiced displeasure over what they saw as a lack of transparency in the process.
Kerr had been on the job since March 2012.
European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley told reporters at last month's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai that, without mentioning Kerr's departure, he feels confidence moving forward.
"I went over to Macau to spoke to the Asian Tour members for close to an hour," Pelley said. "Shortly thereafter, there was a vote that was a positive vote for them to continue to give their board authorization to continue with the negotiation."
An exclusive negotiating period between the two tours runs through 2016, which the tour is still engaged in without Kerr as the lead.
On Wednesday, the Asian Tour announced chairman Kyi Hla Han has been named "interim Tour Commissioner," though there was no commissioner during Kerr's run at the helm. The tour also announced big changes to its board, with four non-member directors ousted, including former European Tour chief executive Ken Schofield, replaced, in part, by chairmen of two title sponsors of Asian Tour events. Three member directors were also removed, including Lam Chih Bing, Scott Barr and Boonchu Ruangkit.
