By V. Krishnaswamy, IANS,
Sentosa (Singapore) : Top Asian golfers like Jeev Milkha Singh and K.J. Choi are a little worried at the global economic crisis but feel lucky to play for huge prize money.
Jeev, who is here to play in the $5 million Barclays Singapore Open, feels that the crisis will hit Asia soon and everyone should be prepared mentally to face it.
“I can understand the crunch the financial world is going through and we are very fortunate that we are playing for such great prize money. I think it’s going to hit Asia and we should be prepared mentally for cut backs in tournaments. We will probably see more cuts in another year or so. The way the financial world is going, it will hit every Tour in the world,” Jeev told IANS Wednesday on the eve of the tournament.
“The other way to look at it is that we are fortunate as the top clients come to play golf at the Pro-Ams and when they mingle with the pros, this gives the pros the opportunity to speak to the clients and for them to re-invest.”
Choi said: “What I feel is that during these bad economic times, the people look for somewhere to give hope and I think through sports, through golf, we’ll be able to cheer people in these depressing times. I think golf and sports can actually stimulate the economy and I hope that is what happens.”
On possible cuts in prize money and tournaments, Choi said: “I always like to look at the cup being half full and I want to think positive. I don’t think as professional players, golfers, we should be worried about sponsorship is going to be reduced, whether purse is going to go down, whether we’re going to lose tournaments.”
He felt that golfers should play well continuously to attract more sponsors.
“I don’t think we should really be worried about the economic conditions right now, just play your heart now and hopefully we’ll get rewarded for that,” Choi said.