Patrick Reed: A raft of big-name golfers will compete on the Asian Tour

The 2018 Masters champion, Patrick Reed, has said the balance of power in world golf will continue to sway in the next few months as some golfing ‘superstars’ will compete on the Asian Tour.

It’s been a tumultuous time for elite golf in recent months as big names have controversially competed in LIV Golf Invitationals, resulting in, for example, former Open champion Henrik Stenson being stripped of the European Ryder Cup captaincy just four months after the appointment, prior to winning the LIV Golf Invitational Series at Bedminster a few days later.

SINGAPORE- L-R- Sihwan Kim of the USA, Patrick Reed of the USA and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe pictured at a press conference on Wednesday August 10, 2022 ahead of the US$ 1.5 million International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) August 11-14, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Reed himself is competing at this month’s International Series Singapore – an LIV Golf-backed International Series tournament that features 16 of the Asian Tour’s current top 20 players, including Order of Merit leader and International Series Thailand winner, Sihwan Kim, plus International Series England champion, Scott Vincent.

As well as playing on the Asian Tour, all three players have also competed in LIV Golf Invitationals this year, lining-up in fields packed with Major winners, including the likes of Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson.

Reed is adamant there will soon be an influx of the world’s biggest international golfers following in his footsteps and heading to compete on the Asian Tour.

SINGAPORE- L-R- Sihwan Kim of the USA, Patrick Reed of the USA and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe pose for a photograph after a press conference on Wednesday August 10, 2022 ahead of the US$ 1.5 million International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) August 11-14, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Reed said: “I definitely think a lot more guys will come over and start playing Asian Tour events. I know personally, from talking to guys about trying to grow the game around the world, the only way to do that is by travelling and playing different tours and events, like the International Series.

“To grow the game of golf, just like any business, the only way you can become successful is to spend money to make money. And to help out and grow the purses of the International Series, that is going to bring money not only to those events but the Asian Tour and allow them to sustain and grow larger and larger. At the end of the day if the guys go and have fun and enjoy themselves, they are going to come back and play more events.”

He continued: “I feel like the Asian Tour will start growing and will get bigger and bigger once more guys come over.

SINGAPORE- L-R- Sihwan Kim of the USA, Patrick Reed of the USA and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe pose for a photograph after a press conference on Wednesday August 10, 2022 ahead of the US$ 1.5 million International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) August 11-14, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“World ranking points always help, but at the end of the day, for me, coming over here, I’d heard great things about this place. And coming in, I knew I wanted to play a little bit after the last event we played in Bedminster, and it fit the schedule. For me, it’s more about travelling and playing golf and trying to grow the game around the world – and not just staying at home and playing at home.”

Zimbabwean Vincent, who won the International Series event at Slaley Hall in England in June, added: “The International Series has brought a lot more excitement and enthusiasm around the events. The tournaments are run at a higher level but at the same time they retain the same values and the core roots of the Asian Tour. It hasn’t changed much, but with the excitement and the influx of funds, the difference it makes is huge. There are a lot of small things happening that make a big difference and go a long way to make a better experience for us as players.

SINGAPORE- Patrick Reed of the USA pictured during the Pro-am event on Wednesday August 10, 2022 ahead of the US$ 1.5 million International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah Country Club (Tampines Course) August 11-14, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“It is cool to have people like Patrick come and play in these events. The International Series has brought that, it is cool and hopefully it goes from strength to strength.”