Working alongside the Chairman and the board of directors, he oversees the tour’s strategic direction, a job that has exploded since the arrival of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Armed with the PIF’s injection of cash, Cho has overseen a rapid expansion in the Asian Tour’s prize funds and global reach alongside LIV Golf. To discuss all of that and more, Cho sat down with John Huggan at the Close House Golf Club in north-east England, venue for just one part of the Asian Tour’s growing ‘International Series’ of events.

Okay, let’s get right to it. In the jigsaw puzzle that is men’s professional golf right now, where does the Asian Tour fit?

Well, we’re talking one day after the DP World Tour schedule for 2024 came out. I haven’t looked at it too closely, but there are swings, bonuses, some destinations they normally visit have gone and there are new ones too. We are in the process of putting our schedule together for next year. Obviously, the LIV Golf schedule has a big role to play in what we do. We look at what they are going to do first. Then we schedule the International Series events Then we schedule our regular events. So, it is a three-layer process for us.

So where do we sit? It was quite obvious at the Open Championship that, since the announcement the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund are potentially going to be working together, a lot of the agencies, player managers and sponsors have reached out saying we can be friends again. We don’t have to choose sides and can explore ways of working with all concerned.

Had those sorts of bodies and people disappeared because you lacked a relationship with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour?

Yes. Companies that do most of their business with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour – but who had small projects with us – went away for a couple of seasons. But now they are talking to us again. That’s a big positive for us.

Can you give us some examples?

Just agencies that represent brands and players. Octagon for example. And companies like BMW and Porsche. It’s an open playing field again, which is obviously good for the Asian Tour. In terms of are we going to incorporate ourselves back into the golf eco-system, the short answer is ‘not yet.’ We’re still building our schedule independently. It looks like LIV are also building their schedule for next year independently as well. We are very much still in the LIV camp though.

Given how soon 2024 is going come around, it doesn’t seem too surprising that not too much is going to change. But is it safe to say that may not be the case in 2025?

I hope so. I hope we can start talking to the other tours and start planning our schedules properly. I wouldn’t go as far as to say we will begin co-sanctioning with the DP World Tour straight away. But obviously that would be mutually beneficial. We are in the UK for two weeks, and they have a few events in south-east Asia and the Middle East. So, we should be collaborative for sure. It makes too much sense.

LIV Golf CEO found a close ally in the Asian Tour boss. PHOTO: Getty Images.

What sort of footprint is the Asian Tour looking to have in Australia going forward? They have such great courses and players. So, it’s a wasted resource right now.

Right now, we only have one event co-sanctioned with the Australasian Tour, the New Zealand Open. That has been very successful. But we have a lot of players who compete on both tours. There is a lot of crossover … maybe 25-30 players. So, it would make sense for us to feature there. They are very close to us. But it really depends on the market and whether sponsors in Australia embrace working with the Asian Tour. And whether Asian companies want to go sponsor events in Australia.

There is nothing on the horizon just yet. But we are starting to talk more with the Australian Tour. We are holding the first stage of our qualifying school there. They were very collaborative with us in choosing the date for that event (October). We are looking forward to that. It’s an experiment and something we haven’t done before. Hopefully it will be well received as it does save the guys having to fly to Asia for stage one.

It would seem to be a marriage made in heaven. You have the resources of a big tour and Australia has so many wonderful courses and players.

They do have a lot of talent there. I’d love to see it happen. If you look at the state tourism authorities there, they all want Asian tourists to go down there. It makes sense from a tourism standpoint too. So yes, I’d love to start having some of those conversations. But it’s not happening yet.

Back to the prospect of a LIV/PGA Tour coming together, how has your relationship changed between the day before their announcement and the day after?

Nothing straight away. I did get a ton of phone calls asking if this was real and was it actually happening. But I was on the phone with the PIF people – who kept it under wraps very well – who reassured me their commitment to the Asian Tour remains and can only get stronger. We’re not concerned.

I get your point though. Many were asking if the PIF works with the PGA Tour, do we get a little forgotten? Are we going to be redundant? But that will not be the case. LIV is not going to be swallowed up by the PGA Tour and will still remain an entity. In turn, the Asian Tour is still going to be a feeder to LIV. We’re confident the funding will remain. And even increase in years to come.

In an ideal world, is there a chance something that takes in everywhere except America could evolve to challenge the PGA Tour? Could there be a viable alternative to America?

That was what we were working on five, six years ago. There was a very public offer from the PGA Tour to partner with the Asian Tour. Then there was an offer from what was then the European Tour to work with the Asian Tour and form a ‘rest of the world tour.’ But over the last two or three years the PGA Tour and the DP World Tier have essentially become one. So, the previous conversations were turned on their heads.

I still think there is a lot of good golf outside America. Not everyone wants to go there to play professional golf. It’s not for everybody. Take Anirban Lahiri. He lived in the States for six or seven years and had some success. But it turned out not to be for him. So, playing the LIV tour and our International Series events worked for him on a personal level. That’s why it has to be a good thing to have a strong series of events outside the United States.

Thant addresses the media during the launch of the International Series. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Before the PGA Tour started talking to the PIF, it did seem that they felt threatened by just about anything that might upset the status quo they had created. But now that things have changed, have the prospects of you working with them improved?

Sure. But yes and no. The idea of a merger isn’t the correct way to look at it. It’s probably going to be a business working relationship. I don’t feel like LIV is going to go anywhere anytime soon. In the short term we are still going to see LIV operate as is. The players have ongoing contracts they need to honour. And arguably, they don’t have either the time or the inclination to play LIV and the PGA Tour. I don’t see too many going back anytime soon.

That was one of the supposed motivations for going to LIV – to play less.

Exactly. But what we are all looking for is a way for the LIV players to get into the majors. Martin Slumbers said at the Open he wanted to find ways to make the world rankings more accurate. That’s a good indication.

I’m of the opinion we should just get rid of the world rankings.

Or include everyone.

Yes, or make them meaningful. Besides, the only events that really need them are the majors. Even then, they could manage without them. They filled up their fields easily enough before the rankings came along in the mid-1980s.

Totally. They could do so again. It’s obvious we are doing something right in Asia. Tom Kim emerged from there. There are many players in Europe and America who started their careers in Asia. We should be getting the recognition we deserve, say the top-three of our Order of Merit, or more, into the majors.

All of them?

Well, the Masters does whatever they want (laughs). But gone are the days when you looked at a player from Asia and felt sure he was going to miss the cut at the majors. They are contending now. It’s almost routine that someone is up there.

I did notice that the exemption into the Open that used to go to the winner of your Order of Merit was not reinstated this year. And I can’t get a straight answer from the R&A as to why not.

We have asked why. Technically speaking, there are other ways for our players to get into the Open. That’s always the answer we get.

Yes, I’ve also received that e-mail.

(laughs) They say that they examine the entry criteria every year.

I’ve read that too.

(laughs) Let’s just say we feel like our Order of Merit winner is deserving of playing in a major. All four of them.