Hua Hin's Simon Yates sues Asian Tour

[buksida]

Simon Yates, ranked seventh in career earnings on golf's Asian Tour, and three other players have sued to challenge the regional golf body's rules preventing players from participating in rival tournaments.

The Asian Tour has fined the players as much as $15,000 each for taking part in "conflicting" events, such as tournaments organized by the rival OneAsia Tour in which Yates and the other golfers participated.

Yates, Terry Pilkadaris, Guido van der Valk and Matthew Griffin claimed in court papers filed with the Singapore High Court that restrictions imposed by the organization place an "unreasonable restraint of trade" on them.

The lawsuit highlights the struggle that the player-run Asian Tour faces as some of its golfers consider defecting to the OneAsia Tour, formed last year by golf's ruling bodies in China, Australia and South Korea. National tours in Asia, the fastest-growing region for golf, are seeking to join in a bid to hold higher-profile events with more prize money.

"The Asian Tour's been around for some time now and it hasn't really been going anywhere," Yates, based in Hua Hin, Thailand, said in a phone interview. "OneAsia's come along and every event is at least $1 million. The Asian Tour's only worth $300,000 for some and even then you've got to be in the top 20 to win any money."

Yates, originally from Scotland, has played in Asia since 1995 and on the Asian Tour since it was formed in 2004. He has appeared in 242 Asian Tour tournaments, earning $1.75 million, according to statistics posted on the organization's web site.

Permission Needed
Asian Tour members were notified in March that they wouldn't be allowed to take part in competing tournaments without Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han's written permission, the organization said. The golfers have paid their fines, except Griffin, who's been suspended from playing in Asian Tour events, according to court papers.

The Asian Tour, based in Singapore, called the golfers' lawsuit a "frivolous vexation" and "manifestly groundless without foundation," and urged the court to dismiss it.

"They've got to follow the rules and regulations which they agreed to when they signed their memberships," Han said in a phone interview from Jakarta. "OneAsia is a sports marketing group and started organizing a rival tour after we terminated our contract with them. Our players don't endorse them."

OneAsia Chief Executive Officer Ben Sellenger didn't answer calls to his mobile phone. OneAsia isn't a party in the lawsuit.

'Wee Man'
Yates, 40, known as the "Wee Man", missed parts of last season due to a wrist injury.

"I've decided to quit the Asian Tour if things don't change," Yates said. "I've got to make a living for my family. It's very, very difficult to make money on the Asian Tour."

The Asian Tour held 28 events offering $38 million prize money in 2009, compared with a record $39 million over 30 tournaments a year earlier, according to its website. OneAsia, which in July hired operations director David Parkin from the Asian Tour, said it expects to stage 11 events with $12 million in prize money this year.

Melbourne-based Pilkadaris, 36, has won $1.1 million in prize money and is known as "one of the hardest working players" on the Asian Tour, according to the group's website. Van der Valk, 30, who turned professional in 2002, has earned $251,000 in prize money while Griffin, 27, has made $57,000.

Advocatus Law LLP is representing the players, while Legal Clinic LLC is acting for the Asian Tour.

The case is Terry Pilkadaris & Ors vs Asian Tour (Tournament Players Division) Pte S551/2010 in the Singapore High Court.

Source: SF Chronicle

[charlesh]

Should be allowed to play wherever UNLESS contracted to do otherwise. Let's hope that there are none of LKY's reli's either linked to AsiaTour or the "high" court of Singas.