HONG KONG, August 20 - OneAsia's Director of Tour Operations, David Parkin, is hoping next month's Charity High1 Resort Open in Korea is not hit by the weather that forced the cancellation of the tournament last year after just one full round.Set high in the Taebaek mountains, along the Baekdu-daegan range which runs the length of the Korean penninsula, High1 doubles as a ski resort in winter and golf resort in summer, but this flexibility means it can also fall victim to the vagaries of the weather.
The one billion won tournament made its debut on the OneAsia circuit in July last year, and is back again from September 6-9 with a first-class field boasting the best golfing talent in the Asia-Pacific.
"It was a very strange situation last year," Parkin said. "The weather was actually pretty good, but low cloud on three holes meant we could not complete the second round -- and so eventually we had to call the tournament off."
Parkin, one of the most experienced golf officials in Asia, said he had never come across a similar situation in nearly three decades in the industry.
"I've had rain, lightning, wind and even hail stop a tournament before," he said, "but I have never had to deal with cloud causing a cancellation."
Fresh from an inspection of the course , Parkin said holding the tournament in September instead of July would significantly improve the conditions -- although it was cold and damp when he visited last week. High1 is in Gangwon province, which is home to Pyeongchang, host city of the the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
"If it stays the same it will be a challenge for the players," he said.
"They would have gone from the steamy, tropical conditions of Thailand, to the much cooler alpine setting of High1. Players will need to adapt and show flexibility."
With no defending champion the field is even more open than usual, although a very strong home challenge is likely to be mounted by Park Sang-hyun, currently third on the order of merit, and Kim Meen-whee, a big climber following an excellent finish in Thailand last week.
Last year's Order of Merit champion Andre Stolz of Australia will be keen to turn around a somewhat disappointing season, while Indonesia's Rory Hie -- playing in glasses after problems with his contact lenses, is also out to redeem himself after a lacklustre finish at the Thailand Open.
