Dumandan, Asistio move closer to earning berths in OneAsia

Marvin Dumandan and Antonio Asistio II of the Philippines made it safely through the first stage of the maiden OneAsia Qualifying School topped by Australian Craig Hancock held at the Sandbelt Trails of the Mission Hills in Haikou, China. Dumandan tallied 289 (72-76-73-68) and Asistio made 290 (79-67-74-70) to reach the final stage with 91 others from 13 nations vying for 10 spots to play in all OneAsia's 2011 events. The finale will be played in the same venue on January 11. The winner next week will play for guaranteed entry into all OneAsia 2011 events, including co-sanctioned or limited field events. Players ranked second to tenth will receive priority ranking in OneAsia's eligibility categories and for teeing up at all OneAsia full field events. Players ranked 11th to 40th will also be eligible for OneAsia membership. The participation of Dumandan and Asistio will also mark the first time that a Filipino is seeking to earn a berth in OneAsia, the Asian Tour's rival golf circuit. It will be recalled that last year, Asian Tour officials barred any player from its roster from joining OneAsia. If a player chose to, he would be fined $5,000 and banned from entering tournaments for the year. As reported earlier in GMANews.TV, it was inevitable and only a matter of time for the Filipino pros to join One Asia, which offers larger prize money in each tournament as compared to the Asian Tour. OneAsia will stage a total of 15 to 17 elite tournaments across the Asia-Pacific this season. So far, a total of 13 events have been confirmed on OneAsia's preliminary schedule for 2011, with further additions to be made in the coming weeks. – Adrian Flores, JVP, KY, GMANews.TV