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The $1.181 million tournament will tee off in
the South Korean city of Incheon on Sept. 10, with back-to-back
events in Taiwan and Japan lined up in the following weeks, said
the governing body for men's professional golf in Asia.
The Asian Tour season, which started in January in Hong Kong,
was suspended in March as governments imposed lockdowns and
travel curbs to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
"We are targeting a conservative restart in September because of
the current predicament with restrictions on air travel and
large gatherings," Asian Tour chief executive Cho Minn Thant
said in a statement.
Governments in Asia have started to slowly ease lockdowns as the
rates of infection slows in some countries but there are
concerns about a second wave of infections when economies fully
reopen.
"The ultimate lifting of quarantine periods will determine the
Tour's ability to resume full-scale operations," Cho said.
The Asian Tour was targeting between 10 to 12 events from
September to December, he said.
While they hoped to recover much of the season, Cho said there
were already plans to extend it into 2021.
He also said the early tournaments would look different due to
heightened health and safety regulations.
"If we need to minimize the number of foreign travellers
travelling into a host country, we may have to do without
private caddies, entourages, and support staff," said Cho.
The U.S. PGA Tour restarts in Texas on Thursday, while golf in
Europe resumes with the British Masters on July 22.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Ana
Nicolaci da Costa)
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