Asian Tour’s fashion forward approach brings shorts to the course for the new season
- New dress code adopted at season-opening PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club
- Tour CEO Cho Minn Thant reveals decision on Friday and says if it’s good enough for Wimbledon, it’s good enough for us
The Asian Tour has taken a step towards removing golf’s slightly stuffy image by allowing players to wear shorts during tournaments, starting at this week’s PIF Saudi International.
While the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have maintained a strict dress code, LIV Golf’s more relaxed approach to the game saw the likes of Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Brooks Koepka get more comfortable on the course.
Now, the Asian Tour’s player’s committee has adopted a similar stance, deciding that the knee-length fashion item does not make them look less professional.
“We just started it this week,” Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour CEO, revealed on Friday. “It is a new rule that has come about through our new TPC, which is selected every two years, and the current one just said: ‘Look, we are playing in destinations where it is very warm.’ They have taken a look at the LIV players last year and how it looks on TV and they were OK with it.
“Obviously there is the debate about: ‘Do shorts make us look less professional?’ But in a climate like tropical South East Asia, destinations in the Middle East, it just makes sense.
“It is a tour rule that they are allowed to wear shorts — there may be some countries where the golf association, clubs or sponsors don’t allow it, but largely, it will be up to the players.”
