By IANS
New Delhi : World no. 11 golfer Vijay Singh has accepted an invitation to become an honorary member of the Asian Tour.
The Fijian expressed his delight with the recognition as he had cut his professional teeth in Asia during the 1980s before going on to become a global superstar by accumulating over 60 international victories, including three Majors.
Singh received his Asian Tour badge from the Tour’s executive chairman Kyi Hla Han after the final round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in India last weekend.
“It’s an honour. The Asian Tour has grown and it’ll get stronger and stronger. I will try to come back and play here more often and support the Asian Tour,” said Singh.
Although the Fijian is now firmly established on the US PGA Tour, he has regularly competed across the region. Singh has won titles in Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and Chinese Taipei in the past and was pleased to see the rapid growth and expansion of the Asian Tour, which is poised to stage an unprecedented 30 events and offer over $40 million in prize money this season.
“The growth of golf in Asia is getting bigger and over the next few years, we will see many more strong players coming out from the Asian Tour. I am happy to see this development and I believe it won’t stop.
“We need more big tournaments to get the players going. The Asian players need to keep playing hard and not look back,” said Singh.
Asian Tour supremo Kyi Han was delighted that the Fijian has thrown is backing the Asian Tour.
“It is wonderful that Vijay has accepted our invitation to become an Honorary Member. He is an inspiration to a lot of Asian players. To have him come back and support the Asian Tour is a tremendous honour for us,” said Han.