Agreement reached on Indonesian Open

The threatened boycott by Asian Tour players of next month’s Indonesian Open has been avoided following further talks with the European Tour.

Agreement has been reached between the two bodies so that three tournaments - the Singapore Masters and TCL Classic in China are the others – will be jointly sanctioned.

George O’Grady, executive director of the European Tour, said: “We would like to thank the Asian Tour for their co-operation in agreeing to move the Amby Valley Masters in India and ensuring that the events in Indonesia, Singapore and China are played to the mutual satisfaction of both Tours.

“We have strong relationships with the Government of Indonesia and also the Singapore Masters, a well-established event which has produced an Indian winner in Arjun Atwal and the first Chinese champion on The European Tour in Lian-Wei Zhang.”

The row erupted over the Indonesian Open being announced in the same week as the Amby Valley Masters, with Asian Tour chief executive Louis Martin saying: “It’s just an insult what the European Tour and (tournament promoters) Parallel Media Group are planning – and it is completely out of order in fostering good relationships between the two tours.

“The Asian Tour has been in constant fights with Parallel Media ever since they were signed on by the European Tour in March 2003. They seem to go ahead and do their own thing without any concern for the long-term promotion of golf in the Asia region.”