Sports

Sunday November 8, 2009

Nicklaus gives Asia thumbs up


Golden Bear continues to be a name to contend with, even though he does not play the Tour any longer.

ASIA always has a special place in Jack Nicklaus’ heart. Having built golf courses in this region for 36 years, Nicklaus Design so far this year has 22 signed contracts to build golf courses which includes 16 projects spread across China, Korea and India.

Therefore, it was not surprising when he announced during his recent trip here that Asia will be golf’s next powerhouse and that one day China’s players will dominate the sport.

Nicklaus with Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew (centre) at the gala dinner.

This comes on the heels of Asia’s first champion of a Major, Y.E. Yang of South Korea, who in August this year defeated Tiger Woods to capture the US PGA Championship.

In Malaysia to attend the Asia Pacific Golf Summit, he reasoned that with golf being included in the 2016 Olympics and Asia recovering faster from the economic slowdown than the developed world, golf course construction in Asia is expected to grow in leaps and bounds.

The 69-year-old who is an 18-time Majors champion, said despite an economy that has stalled golf course development in most global markets there is still significant development of golf courses in Asia.

”My business of designing courses is basically 90% in this continent. In the near future and with the push that the Olympics will provide, I believe Asia will have maybe five players in the top-10 bracket.

The Golden Bear in his address talked up Asia’s growing stature

“I see a great movement in China and India with more government funding for golf in these countries which have large populations but a small golfing fraternity. And I see more people taking up the sport with the funding, and ultimately, golf will be the winner,” he said.

Nicklaus Design has built 350 golf courses around the world and for the second straight year and the third time in seven years, the readers of Asian Golf Monthly magazine named Nicklaus Design as “Golf Course Architect of the Year in Asia Pacific.” At the closing ceremony of the Asia Pacific Golf Summit, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nicklaus Design Asia, with offices or representation in Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul and Manila, has 10 courses under construction in Asia, including five in China, three in Korea and courses in Cambodia and India. The firm also has more signed and active projects spread throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim, representing China, Korea, Vietnam, India, Jakarta, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

On the final day of the summit during a 45 minute fireside chat Nicklaus said although he never got to compete for an Olympic medal, the present generation will stand a chance of competing for one.

”I feel that the top 30 golfers in the world should be selected, while the remaining 30 should be qualifiers from regional tournaments, thus outsiders will also have a chance to play for an Olympic gold,” he said.

Jack, also known as “The Golden Bear”, currently holds the record for the most victories in Major championships. After winning two US Amateur Championships in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 US Open, he turned professional towards the end of 1961.

The 1962 US Open was both Jack’s first Major championship win, and his first professional victory. This win over Arnold Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two. In 1966, he won the Masters for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this, and also won the British Open, completing his career slam of Major championships. After failing to win a Major for two years, Jack won another Open Championship in 1970.

Between 1971 and 1980, he would win a further nine Major championships, as well as overtaking Bobby Jones’ record of 13 Major championships. At the age of 46, he claimed his 18th and last Major championship at the 1986 Masters, becoming the oldest Major championship winner.

Tiger Woods, who is closing on his record for the most Majors won, Nicklaus conceded that Woods will one day overtake his record since he already has 14.

“I suspect that he probably will pass it, I suspect he probably will do it in two or three years,” he said.

Nicklaus continues to be a name to contend with although he does not compete with the likes of Woods, Phil Mickelson, Yang, Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh – focusing on building challenging and exciting golf courses with a special focus on Asia.

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