Golf Central

Plans for the Asian, Japanese and Australasian Tours to merge could well be bad news for the European PGA Tour as it continues to expand through Asia. The news was announced at the venue for the Australian Masters, being held this week, and comes at a time when the Australasian and Japan Tours are struggling.

The European Tour has only just announced a new multi-million pound end-of-season competition to be held in Dubai, starting in 2009, and is increasingly holding big events in China. However, it is likely that the tri-fold merger, which would create a very powerful new tour organisation, would limit Europe’s future opportunities within Asia.

Despite that, former Open champion Ian Baker-Finch is all for it, and for what that's worth, here's what he has to say courtesy of our friends at Australia's Fox Sports ...