Zhang Lian-Wei at 2004 Masters: A master-stroke of deceit

It would have been the ultimate recognition of the progress made by Asian golf, if only it did not reek of regional and political bias, and completely overlooked the deserving.

Last week, Hootie Johnson, chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced that Zhang Lian-Wei of China had been issued a special invitation by the Masters committee to play the 2004 Masters, which starts on April 8.

The Masters is the youngest of the four Majors, but is perhaps the most prestigious title in the world of golf. Just playing the tournament is a dream-come-true for most golfers.

The qualifying criteria of the Masters are amongst the most stringent in the world, and the best way to ensure entry is to be in the top-50 of the world rankings. "Lian-Wei has proven his ability on the European tour and in Asia," Johnson said on the official website of the Masters.

That is where Johnson and his committee have made the big mistake. While there is no denying that Zhang is an outstanding player, there were at least three candidates more worthy "" and two of them are Indians. If someone deserved to get a special entry to the Masters, it should have been either Arjun Atwal or Jyoti Randhawa or Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.

Zhang's achievements, as listed by the Masters committee, are: first Chinese golfer to win on the PGA European Tour when he won the Caltex Masters by one stroke over Ernie Els; winner of 2003 China Open, winner of 2002 Macau Open; second last year on the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit, and being three-time Chinese amateur champion.

On the basis of current form, the invitation should have gone to Jaidee, ranked 70th in the world, or Randhawa, ranked 95th. Jaidee has won the Malaysian Open (an European Tour joint-sanctioned event) and was tied-fifth along side Tiger Woods in the Dubai Desert Classic.

Randhawa, who won the Suntory Open in Japan in 2003, finished second in Johnnie Walker Classic and third in Singapore Masters this year. He won the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit crown in 2002, while Jaidee won in 2001, and was second in 2002. In comparison, Zhang is ranked 168th in the world.

If performance in 2003 is considered, no one had it better than Atwal. He won the Asian PGA Tour Order of Merit, became the only Asian to win twice on the European Tour (2002 Singapore Masters and 2003 Malaysian Open), and was only the second non-Japanese Asian to qualify for the creme de la creme USPGA Tour.

If the number of international wins are considered, Atwal has six under his belt (including two on the European Tour), Jaidee has a similar number with one in Europe, and Randhawa has five with one on the Japanese Tour, coupled with at least four top-five finish in European PGA Tour events in the last two years.

No wonder, both Jaidee and Randhawa expressed surprise on Zhang receiving the invitation. "I was very surprised to learn Zhang has been invited to Augusta and though he is a very good player I believe there is a lot of politics involved in the decision," said Jaidee during the Singapore Masters. "I am very happy for him but I would have thought that maybe myself or Jyoti might have received an invitation before Zhang."

"I believe it's all to do with politics between North America and China. If you look at the individual merits of both Zhang and Jaidee, Thongchai should have got the invite. But then Thongchai is from Thailand and Zhang is from a superpower country," remarked Randhawa.

The Masters has faced several protests in the past for their politically incorrect steps. Only last year, women's right activist Martha Burke led a huge protest against Augusta Nationals for being a male-only club.

This will go down as latest blunder of Masters, one which seems to have been taken without the benefit of diligent research. Hopefully, Zhang will perform well enough and turn it into a "master" stroke.