Rory McIlroy might have raised eyebrows with his decision to play the Korean Open this week, forfeiting an opportunity to leapfrog injured pair Paul Casey and Martin Kaymer into the lead in the European Tour's Race To Dubai.
Yet there's more behind the Holywood youngster's head-to-head with Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa and Korea-born Danny Lee in Seoul than the usual hefty six-figure appearance fee.
McIlroy's agents at International Sports Management have long identified Asia as the market with massive growth potential for the tousle-haired Ulster prodigy.
Any confrontation he has with his hottest two young rivals on the golf course in the Far East could potentially yield huge commercial dividends, which is one of the reasons why ISM chief Chubby Chandler has travelled with McIlroy to Korea.
Ishikawa, who turns 18 on Thursday week, sent his profile rocketing ever higher in his na
tive country at the weekend as he romped to his third tournament victory of the year, bringing his remarkable tally of wins on the Japan Tour to five.
By playing in this week's OneAsia Tour promotion, McIlroy misses the 2m Mercedes-Benz Championships, where first place is worth 320,000, which would have been enough to put his nose ahead in the Race to Dubai.
Yet there'll be ample opportunity for McIlroy to strengthen his position in the table before November's Dubai World Championship, notably the Dunhill Links ($5m), Portugal Masters (3m), Singapore Open ($5m), Volvo World Match Play (3.25m) and HSBC Champions ($7m).
没有评论:
发表评论