Asia's march to golf prominence as long as Great Wall of China

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Japanese superstar Ryo Ishikawa is a perfect example of how far golf has come in Asia since the 1980s.

It was fewer than 30 years ago when a golfer from Asia was seen as a curiosity.

Isao Aoki went shoulder-to-shoulder with Jack Nicklaus at the U.S. Open in 1980, and people were stunned.

T.C. Chen would have won the 1985 U.S. Open had he not double-hit a wedge from the rough and handed the trophy to Andy North.

Tommy Nakajima made some noise at the Masters in 1986, and people were shocked when he finished eighth.

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Boy, how things have changed.

No longer are players from the Far East considered incapable of competing with the rest of the world. Thanks to accomplished players like T.C. Chen and Shigeki Maruyama, Asian players have proven they could win on the PGA TOUR.

This summer, Y.E. Yang showed the world that Asian players can compete for -- and win -- a major championship. In Yang's case, he even showed it was possible to catch and defeat the greatest player in the world.

And this week, the Far East gets a chance to show off its golf chops again this week when Shanghai hosts the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. It has become the region's most influential tournament after being granted status as a World Golf Championship.

The top players from four of the world's major professional tours compete in the event, which celebrates the first time that Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods will play in the same Asian tournament. (It doesn't happen that often in America, either.)

Mickelson, David Howell and Sergio Garcia are all former champions, but most remember that the HSBC Champions marked the official coming-out party for Yang, when the then-little-known Korean defeated Tiger Woods for the championship in 2006.

"World class golf has arrived on the continent," PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem told Reuters. "And the map of the golf world may never look the same."

Indeed, the presence of Asian players on the world golf scene is about to be raised to another level. While it is unlikely to mirror the dominance that Korean players have experienced on the LPGA Tour, there's no doubt that golfers from Asia are ready to make their presence felt like never before.

Case No. 1 is young Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, the 18-year-old who was chosen to play for the International Team at the Presidents Cup. He acquitted himself well, too, with a 3 and 2 record and a singles match victory over Kenny Perry. Known back home as the "Bashful Prince," Ishikawa won four times on the Japan Golf Tour in 2009 and became the youngest player to make the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He's in the field this week, and no doubt will be a big draw.

Case No. 2 are the young Asians who have proven themselves as amateurs in the United States. Korean-born Danny Lee won the U.S. Amateur in 2008 and Korea's Beong-Hun An won the title in 2009. Lee was only 17 when he won the title, which made him the youngest to do so. An broke that mark this summer. That's not the end of it, either. China-born Minghao Wang is playing for Georgia Tech and Mu Hu is playing for Florida. It looks like the recruiting travel budget just got bigger for NCAA golf coaches.

Case No. 3 is the fresh commitment made to junior golfers in China -- no doubt in part to make a splash for the 2016 Olympics. The Mission Hills Golf Club, a 12-course complex in Shenzhen, just announced the creation of a new junior golf tour to help make the sport more accessible to a wider section of the population.

"We realize the impact the Olympics will have on the sport and stand ready to capitalize on the wave of excitement it's generated," said Tenniel Chu, the executive director of the Mission Hills Golf Club.

It's hard to believe it's been just 25 years since China's first golf course opened, one that was designed by Arnold Palmer and required 400,000 yards of dirt to be moved. Because of the lack of equipment, all the dirt was moved by thousands of workers with shovels and burlap bags.

Now the Far East has a thriving professional golf presence. With China emerging as a major player, that's only going to get stronger. The Chinese government is interested in golf and has shown the willingness to move heaven and earth, even if it takes more shovels and burlap bags to get it done.

Stan Awtrey is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR.