ASIAN golf hit new heights in 2008 as the Tour continued to grow in stature with more events than ever before, although success in the Majors once again proved elusive.

The region played host to 32 tournaments over the course of the year, nine of them co-sanctioned with the European Tour, bringing crowds flocking to catch a glimpse of an increasing number of top-name golfers.

In a sign that sponsors continue to get behind the Asian Tour, 15 of the tournaments offered prizemoney of one million US dollars or more.

Three of them - Barclays Singapore Open, HSBC Champions and the Omega World Cup - offered in excess of five million dollars each.

With stars heading to the region and Asian players gaining credibility, tournaments were held in 15 countries, with China hosting six events and India and Thailand four apiece.

'It's been a really good year, the players have been happy and all they've been complaining about is playing week in and week out, so I've done my job,' Asian Tour Executive Chairman Kyi Hla Han said.

'Even in spite of the economic crisis, right now we're doing next year's schedule and its very positive. We've made significant progress over the year and our players are going very well.'

The HSBC Champions in November, won by Sergio Garcia, boosted a glittering field of global golfers never before seen in the region, while the Singapore Open featured a similarly star-spangled line-up.

Aside from Garcia, other notable winners Asia included Retief Goosen and a resurgent Darren Clarke.

There was also success for Asian Tour regulars, with stalwarts like the Philippines's Angelo Que, Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant, and China's Liang Wenchong all scoring victories.

New Zealander Mark Brown's early success in the season (SAIL Open and Johnnie Walker Classic) was not enough to earn him the Order of Merit title, which went to India's Jeev Milka Singh.

Although Singh played a lot of his golf in Europe this year, he returned to claim a famous victory at the Singapore Open, holding off Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington in a nail-biting finish.

India's S.S.P. Chowrasia won a European co-sanctioned tournament (Indian Masters), as did compatriot Arjun Atwal (Malaysian Open), securing them playing rights in Europe.

Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang, who clinched the Hong Kong Open, joined them.

But it was Singh who continued to be the pacesettter for Asia, winning for the third time in Europe when he clinched the Austrian Open in June before his Singapore success.

Veteran K.J Choi of South Korea, who cut his teeth on the Asian Tour, again tasted success on the USPGA Tour, winning the Sony Open in Hawaii to end the year as the highest-ranked Asian in the world at 16.

Sweden's Daniel Chopra, another who used to ply his trade in Asia, continued his emergence in the United States with victory in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Kyi Hla said that while he was pleased at what Asian Tour pros had achieved, he was also excited by the emergence of a number of young players, such as Malaysia's Ben Leong and India's Chowrasia.

'This year, in terms of players, we've done very well,' he said.

'There are some good young players coming through. It's just great to see that continuity, even better for me to see that than seeing more tournaments.

'In terms of players, I think this year has been better than most years.' Bigger and better things are planned for next year, with a record 33 events scheduled offering $42 million (S$60.4 million), more money than ever before. -- AFP