GolfPlus July 2018 Digital Edition (July 2018) | Page 17

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Asian Tour C.E.O Josh Burack to step down following two successful years
he Asian Tour, of¿ cial sanctioning
body for men’s professional golf in
the region, announced today that
its Chief Executive Of¿ cer, Josh
Burack, has decided to resign. Citing family
reasons for his resignation, Burack said he
wants to travel less and spend more quality time
with his wife and two children. Since taking
over the helm as CEO in October 2016, the
Asian Tour enjoyed a period of rapid growth
as events on the main circuit have increased
from 24 in the 2016 season to more than 30
in 2018. In 2017, the Asian Tour returned to
China following a nine-year absence. This
season, two more events in China have been
added to the Tour schedule including the
lucrative CN¥20,000,000 (approximately
US$3,178,000) Volvo China Open. The Tour
has also added playing opportunities in India,
Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and South
Africa for its members. New tournaments
have been recently announced for Malaysia,
Josh Burack
Pakistan and Vietnam later this season.
During Burack’s tenure in 2017, the Asian
Tour became the ¿ rst Tour outside Europe
to become an af¿ liate of the R&A. Jimmy
Masrin, Chairman of the Board of the Asian
Tour said: “The Tour is very appreciative to
Josh for his passion and leadership over the
last two years he has led the organization. The
Tour has achieved much and wishes Josh the
best of luck in his future endeavours.” Asian
Tour Chief Executive Of¿ cer Josh Burack
commented: “It is with mixed emotions that I
have decided to leave the Tour when reaching
the two-year mark. My two children have
been urging me to travel less and spend more
time with our family, so I want to respect their
wishes and not have any regrets of my own
later. With the Asian Tour in a much stronger
position now than when I joined, I know our
talented team will be able to continue the
progress. My sincere thanks to them and our
Board of Directors for providing me with the
opportunity to lead the Asian Tour. It has
been a great honour and I will always remain
a huge supporter of the Asian Tour.”
JAZZ SINGS winning tune
T
he sweet sound of success will resonate very well with Jazz
Janewattananond following his latest win at the Queen’s Cup
presented by Bangchak. After all, it was only more than a year ago
that the 22-year-old was staring at limited playing opportunities on the
Asian Tour after finishing outside the top-60 on the 2016 Order of Merit.
The Thai also missed the grade at the 2017 Qualifying School but relief
would come at the 2017 Bangladesh Open when he won his Asian Tour
title by four shots. As fate would have it, Jazz’s patient approach would
once again see him lift his second title on the Asian Tour by four shots at
the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club. “I told myself I am just here to
play golf and not try to do anything else. I just played shot by shot and I
think that helped. I did my best. “It means a lot to win the Queen’s Cup. It
feels very good to win at home and with my parents watching me win as
well,” said Jazz. The win at an event which Jazz describes as ‘his favourite
tournament on the Asian Tour’ will put him in good stead as he takes on the
world’s best players in his maiden debut at The Open next month. “I came
here with the mindset of putting my game in good shape for The Open
later this month. I did more than that. “To be able to win this
week is a bonus. It has definitely helped to boost
my confidence,” said Jazz. Jazz, who moved from
16th to ninth place on the Habitat for Humanity
Standings following his latest win, will continue to
place his trust with his caddie, Nick Pugh, whom
he wished his signature beard could have gone
under the shaver. “My first week working with my caddie, Nick Pugh, was
at the Queen’s Cup in Samui last year. It’s been over a year now. He wanted
to have a deal with me earlier, saying he will shave off his beard if I were to
win a tournament with him on the bag. I regretted not taking up the deal
with him now,” laughed Jazz. India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar missed out on his
ninth Asian Tour win but moved two spots up to 10th place on the Habitat
for Humanity Standings while Korean-American Sihwan Kim secured seventh
place after finishing tied-third at the Queen’s Cup.
Jazz Janewattananond
GolfPlus
JULY
2018
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