Architect of the deal with Saudi Arabia and its LIV Golf creation for the circuit, Cho has boosted prize money on his circuit and created the Saudi funded International Series that not only sees increased money and playing opportunities for members, but a pathway to LIV Golf riches.

The International Series was the primary subject of a recent discussion with Cho, after rumours were rife that at least one of the tournaments would make its way to Australia, with a week prior or post LIV Golf Adelaide in April the most likely landing place.

That won’t be the case in 2022, but Thant won’t shut down the idea that the International Series will eventually makes its way Down Under.

“Doubtful next year,’ he told Golf Australia magazine when asked if the International Series was bound for this country.

“We have the core regions that we need to cover, being Asia and the Middle East. And then as you saw this year we did one event in Europe, there could be one or two either in Europe or North America.”

What is certain is that the series will expand from seven to ten events in the new year, while the prize purses will go from a US$1.5 million minimum to US$2 million.

Cho with Greg Norman and Tom Kim at the International Series announcement. PHOTO: Luke Walker/WME IMG/WME IMG via Getty Images.

That is part of the formula that has players upbeat about the prospect of playing the Asian Tour, where the other events on the schedule are set to total 15 in 2023 while the recent Qualifying School was sold out at 725 entrants, with an 80 or 90 deep reserve list.

Those improvements are attractive to players in Australia looking for opportunities outside the PGA Tour of Australasia, and even veterans like Scott Hend who after losing his status on the DP World Tour will play full time on the Asian Tour next season.

In the past the local Australian circuit had ties with Asia via co-sanctioning of events in Perth and Fiji, and although Cho is open to once again doing so, the current state of play where Australasia is aligned with the DP World Tour and by extension the PGA Tour, whereas Asia is in bed with LIV Golf, might make that an unrealistic goal.

“Even if we did come down to Australia, we wouldn’t expect a lot from the PGA Tour of Australasia anyway.” - Cho Minn Thant.

“We co-sanction events with the Japan and Korean Tours, but we would like to do stuff with the other Tours as well in other regions,” he said. “If there is market interest, we would love to do things with them, but we also respect that they have an alliance agreement with the DP World Tour. We are not even sure if they can co-sanction with us if they wanted to.”

But don’t expect that to completely stop any progress of the International Series coming to Australia in the future.

“The International Series events when we go to each domestic market we give the local players some spots. But we are not reliant on the local Tour helping out with organisational aspects of the golf tournament,” Cho said.

“We don’t count on them to provide any financial assistance or commercial support. So if we were ever to come down to Australia, the field format would be exactly the same as it is, with 15-20 spots for the locals and largely Asian Tour field together with OWGR category.

“Even if we did come down to Australia, we wouldn’t expect a lot from the PGA Tour of Australasia anyway.”

The CEO and Commissioner has high hopes for where his Tour will sit in the professional golf landscape. PHOTO: Supplied.

The OWGR category Cho mentions of course relates to the Official Golf World Rankings and is the way LIV players can access Asian Tour events should they so wish next year outside of the Greg Norman run Tour’s 14 events. But it is also one of the hot button issues in world golf, with LIV campaigning for world ranking points and Cho involved in the board that will decide that.

Despite his place in relation to the world rankings, the CEO has some strong opinions on the current state of play and what it means for his players trying to rise through the ranks and move to greener pastures.

“If it stays the way it is, it is going to become somewhat redundant,” he said of the rankings. “We are never going to be able to get our players into the top-100, let alone the top-50.

“It is ironic that you get a guy like Tom Kim and the way he came up through the ranks, Asian Development Tour, Korean Tour, Asian Tour, won his way up and got into the bigger events and rocketed up the world golf rankings and now the PGA Tour has wrapped their arms around him and claimed him as their discovery. That would never have happened if he wasn’t able to progress up the world rankings.

“Are we going to miss the opportunity for another Tom Kim in the future? I don’t know.”

What he does know is that the decision to partner with LIV and the Saudis is one he is happy with despite the friction it has caused for this Tour around the world.

“100 percent it definitely is,” he said when asked if the alignment has caused issues for his Tour. “But that was factored into our decision right back when we decided whether to stay with the European Tour and PGA Tour or try something new with Saudi and LIV. We knew this was going to be a factor, but getting the Saudi International on our schedule, 10 International Series events it was a trade-off we were very happy with.”

“It is ironic that you get a guy like Tom Kim and the way he came up through the ranks ... and now the PGA Tour has wrapped their arms around him and claimed him as their discovery."

The Asian Tour’s move has meant an influx of money and perhaps made it a more genuine option for players to play the majority of their career on and make a decent living. And acknowledging that they are not there yet, Thant has high hopes for where his Tour sits in the golfing landscape.

“We are not in market trying to say we are trying to compete or overtake the DP World Tour, but in terms of prize purses, in terms of making a career out of playing on the Asian Tour, it is certainly a lot more competitive now than it was in the past.”

The competitiveness element is true, and Cho and his Tour will have a big role to play in the ongoing divide of men’s professional golf and perhaps an eventual resolution. But for now he is satisfied with where the Tour sits and proud of what he has achieved at the helm after taking over in the most disrupted period of professional golf.

“I must admit I am pretty satisfied with the result and excited about the future. There is a long way to go, we are not up at the same level as the DP World Tour just yet, we still have a long way to go in terms of event numbers and quality, but I think we have come a long way in the last two years. And I am positive that we are going to be improving year on year for the next few years.”