Asians' role on golf's world stage continues to expand

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Hideto Tanihara was a member of the Royal Trophy team that dominated the Europeans last week.

Don't expect to see the same sort of Asian influence that's consumed the LPGA Tour over the last decade to be repeated on the PGA TOUR. That's like comparing apples and oranges; the sport is the same, but the components are far too different for examination.

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But with the international growth of the men's game, there's no question that more Asian players will find their way on the PGA TOUR. The game has become more popular and more affordable, and there are more and more places and opportunities to play.

And with the leadership of PGA TOUR commissioner Tim Finchem and Masters chairman Billy Payne, men's professional golf in Asia will eventually become a growth industry.

The banner of excellence on their behalf has been carried admirably for years by K.J. Choi of South Korea and most recently by Japan's Ryuji Imada. Both have long been Americanized. Choi, the defending Sony Open champion, lives in Houston and has been doggedly learning to speak English.

He's even been able to get it done without a Texas drawl. Imada came to Tampa when he was a teenager to play golf and go to school and became an All-American at the University of Georgia; both places claim him as one of their own.

There are eight other international players in the field at this week's Sony Open one from Korea and seven from Japan. With the exception of Shigeki Maruyama, the veteran from Japan who has won three times on the PGA TOUR, the others are new faces with whom the average American golf fan is unfamiliar. All are members either the Japan Golf Tour or Asian Tour and were exempted into the Sony Open field.

Sang-Moon Bae

Two received a "Commissioner's Exemption:" Hideto Tanihara and Azuma Yano. Five others got in on regular sponsors exemption: Sang-Moon Bae, Shintaro Kai, Tomohiro Kondo and Hiroshi Iwata. Junpei Takayama got in the tough way -- he survived a Monday qualifier.

Adding these players to field is both a smart and generous act on the part of the Sony Open. It gives these younger players a taste of the PGA TOUR and offers a little more exposure to the Japan Golf Tour, which has been around since 1973 and has the third-highest total prize fund.

The Japan Golf Tour begins its season in April and even makes a stop at historic Pine Valley, not the one in New Jersey, but the one in Beijing that Jack Nicklaus designed. (Strangely, the JGT media guide lists the blood type of each player among the biographical information. Maybe it's just in case of an emergency, perhaps a tragic gap wedge incident, and a pint of O-negative is needed at once.)

Tanihara is the most distinguished of the group of invitees. He's won eight times on the Japan Golf Tour, was invited to play in the Masters and tied for fifth at the Open Championship in 2006. He's also married to popular actress and television star Ayaka Nagate, who everyone recognizes from her participation in the band Coconuts Musume.

Kondo has four victories on the JGT and Yano has three wins, two in 2008. But neither is wed to a celebrity and each enjoys a relatively paparazzi-free lifestyle.

Bae spends his time on the Asian Tour, where he's won an event each of the last two seasons. His first win in 2007, with his mother as the caddie, was a six-shot victory over Aaron Baddeley.

A few of them are destined to make the cut this week. A year ago, the brothers of LPGA star Ai Miyazato were given exemptions and both wound up making the cut. Yusaku Miyazato tied for 40th and Koyshi tied for 55th.

You may get a peek of it this week, but make no mistake that the Asian influence is on the way. Look no further than the recent Royal Cup, which matches Europe against Asia. After being beaten in the first two competitions, the Asians stunned the Euros recently in Thailand.

You can ask Hideto Tanihara about it this week in Hawaii -- he was on the winning team. Notice has been served.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.