Players hosting tournaments is not a new phenomenon in golf, but the European Tour seems to have adopted it with almost religious zeal this year.
They started the year with the South African Open, which was hosted by Ernie Els and this weekend we have the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, which is being hosted by Rory McIlroy’s charitable foundation. August sees Paul Lawrie literally putting his name behind the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay, while Ian Poulter will do the duties when the British Masters makes a return to the schedule on October 8-11.
There was a lot of interest around the South African Open because of Els’ involvement, but the five-time champion did not get enough time to transform the tournament this year. One of the oldest Open championships in the world – it was first played in 1903 – the event repeatedly attracts the best local stars, but has struggled to get a decent sponsorship in recent times.
The prize money level was just €1 million (Dh4m) this year (decent by Sunshine Tour standard, but low for a European Tour event), but if Els continues to be involved, local fans are expecting some big and pleasant surprises next year in terms of prize money and quality of field.
The Irish Open wears a completely rejuvenated look after McIlroy’s Midas touch. The world No1 had a lot more time to think about the tournament, and he went about it in a very diligent manner.
#VIDEO: Irish Open – Rory McIlroy to donate any prize money won to his Foundation http://t.co/DH2tHgKzMa pic.twitter.com/xBtRF1FJoB
— Independent Sport (@IndoSport) May 28, 2015
McIlroy was instrumental in securing Dubai Duty Free as the title sponsors for the tournament. It was the first time in five years that the Irish Open, despite drawing record crowds each year and the fact that they have had three major champions – McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke – that the tournament got a sponsor in the financially-hit country. It also saw a 25 per cent hike in prize money to €2.5m (Dh10m), and the presence of 16 of the world’s top-50 stars at Royal County Down.
There’s a bit of kiss-of-life story with the other two events as well.
After Volvo pulled out of the World Match Play last year, there wasn’t any true-blue European Tour match play championship (the Cadillac Match Play Championship in San Francisco was a World Golf Championship event), so for Lawrie and his long-time sponsors, Saltire Energy, to step in was huge indeed.
The British Masters is the most interesting case study of all four events. It is well known that despite producing some of the finest golfers in recent times, there has been a drought of professional golf tournaments in England. The record crowd that turns up every day at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship clearly show there is a massive appetite for the sport.
So, the European Tour decided to revive the British Masters, last played in 2008. They have announced that Poulter, Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood will each take turn to host it. They will help select the venue, and Poulter has chosen Woburn, which is his home course, for this year.
I wish everyone a fantastic week at @BMWPGA Wentworth. Sorry to the fans who wanted to watch me, but I will host the British Masters in Oct
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) May 19, 2015
They then roped in another very important stakeholder – Sky Sports – to support the event. So far, the move seems to be a masterstroke. Sky is working out several marketing and promotional programmes, and as part of it, they released 15,000 free tickets for Thursday’s first round, all of which were snapped up in no time.
The events look good for the players too. Like McIlroy, they can get their charities involved, or like Poulter, they can say thank you to golf clubs that helped make their careers. And the involvement of these world-class players gets the sponsors and fans excited as well.
If the host has the right intentions and is willing to work a bit for his event, it really could be a win-win situation for everyone.
Golf’s Yeti Man sighted
Anthony Kim, a three time winner on the PGA Tour, is now more well known for his mysterious absence from the Tour since the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship.
There have been a lot of rumours floating around about him, including a report last year in which a friend revealed Kim, who had a flair for late-night parties and a wild lifestyle, isn’t playing because he stands to gain $10 million from an insurance policy if he never plays professionally again.
Turns out, Kim is playing golf, even though not professionally.
An Oklahoma newspaper reported that musician Toby Keith recently held a charity golf event, and among the prizes auctioned was a round with Kim. It fetched a whopping $24,500 for Keith’s charity. But still, there is no news on Kim’s possible comeback.
Stat of the Week
11 – the most number of first or second place finishes in the history of the PGA Tour before turning 22. The record, obviously belongs to Jordan Spieth, who finished runner-up again last week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Spieth leads Tiger Woods, who had seven top-two finishes before 22.
