An Asian turf war brewing? | Golf News and Tour Information [Video]

Two stories two days apart suggest that Asia could be targeted by the two most influential golf tours, each seeking new sponsorship and marketing opportunities in a troubled economy.

Thursday’s edition of the Times in London is reporting that Padraig Harrington will address the European Tour’s players committee regarding the importance of looking to Asia for growth at a time when his peers are contemplating enacting a rule requiring tour members to commit to playing more European Tour events on mainland Europe.

“If the European Tour is to be a viable alternative to the PGA Tour, we have to embrace Asia,” Harrington told the newspaper. “We have got $5 million events there in two weeks’ time (the Barclays Singapore Open, followed by the HSBC Champions, in Shanghai), and that’s where the tour has to look to grow.

“We have to see ourselves as a world tour. It would be narrow-minded to think that we should only be …