When it comes to sport, Kazakhstan has been known mostly for its boxers, wrestlers and cyclists.

If the leaders of this Central Asian state have their way, golf could soon become the number one sport on the vast steppes that are still home to nomad tribes.

Golf's popularity in the former Soviet republic is attributed to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The 65-year-old, who has ruled the oil-rich state since its independence in 1991, fell in love with the game on a trip to the United States in 1994.

The golf craze in the world's ninth largest country is reminiscent of the tennis boom in neighbouring Russia [Images].

Tennis, like golf, was considered a bourgeois sport in the communist Soviet Union. But it flourished after Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president, picked up a racket in the early 1990s.

"We know that golf is an ancient game with great history and tradition, but our golf is only 10 years old so don't judge us too harshly," Nazarbayev told guests at the opening of the first professional golf tournament held in Kazakhstan last month.

Despite a late start, the Kazakhs have already moved ahead of their neighbours to the north.

Russia has only two golf courses. Almaty, Kazakhstan's major city, alone has three, including the picturesque 18-hole Nurtau. The capital Astana also has one and several more are being built in other parts of the country.

Nurtau, with a 7,101-yard layout, situated just west of the city with the majestic Tien Shan mountains in the background, was the site of last month's Kazakhstan Open, which this year became part of the European Challenge Tour.

GOOD DEAL

"It all began a few years ago," recalled Charles Perring, golf director of Parallel Media Group, the company hired to promote the tournament. "After the country joined (European soccer governing body) UEFA [Images], Kazakh officials also became interested in joining the European Golf Association (EGA)."

Challenge Tour director Alain de Soultrait said Kazakhstan's aim to join the EGA was a good deal for both sides.

"They wanted to be a part of our tour and we were also interested in expanding into Asia," de Soultrait told Reuters.

"That's how our partnership was born and hopefully this event will grow bigger and better as we have seen with the Russian Open."

The Russian Open, which joined the Challenge Tour in 1996 as a $100,000 tournament and became part of the main European Tour two years ago, has gradually increased its prize money to $500,000. It will be a $1 million event next year.

At 250,000 euros ($300,300), the Kazakhstan Open is already the richest tournament on the Challenge Tour. From day one the Kazakhs wanted to outbid the Russians.

"The first thing the Kazakhs asked was how much the Russians were paying in prize money and they said: 'We'll pay more'," a tournament source told Reuters.

"We don't want to inflate the prize money but if they want to push their prize money to 300,000 euros or even 350,000 next year, we have no problem with that," de Soultrait said.

Though some were apprehensive about coming to Kazakhstan, more than 100 players and officials boarded a charter plane in Amsterdam and made the seven-hour journey to Almaty.

POISONOUS SNAKES

"I know some players felt it was dangerous and didn't want to come. Others thought they have poisonous snakes on the course," said Englishman Shaun Webster.

No snakes were found on the course, only a small gang of gophers chasing a wild rat on the par-five 13th hole.

Asked to describe the course, Webster, who finished one over par and just missed the cut, said: "The front nine is nice but the back nine is more open and you feel a bit lost out there."

The winner, Stephen Browne, had a different view.

"It's a fantastic course," said the 31-year-old Irishman, who took home 40,000 euros. "You can make lots of birdies as it rewards taking risks and the greens were great."

The Kazakhs spared no expense in hosting the tournament.

"It was the first time that the country's leader had opened a tournament on the European Challenge Tour," de Soultrait said.

Nazarbayev, who has a handicap of 16, did not play in the tournament but the country's number two man, Senate chairman Nurtay Abykayev, tried his luck.

"This is a professional tournament but we always reserve a few spots for local players and here we've made an exception for Mr. Abykayev," de Soultrait said.

"It certainly raises the tournament's profile and in any case, I must admit, there aren't that many Kazakh players who are that much better than him."

De Soultrait said the tournament would remain at Nurtau until 2006 but the following year it would probably move to a new $20 million state-of-the-art Zhailjau golf complex.

"We don't view golf as only a game for the rich," Abykayev, who also heads the Kazakh golf federation, told Reuters.