Sports Report Sports Report April 2014 | Page 13

World Matchplay

Without the World

World Golf Championships (WGC) are a series of four tournaments created and run by the International Federation of PGA Tours, yet are still official money list tournaments on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Japan Tour. To entice the world's best players, the prize money at WGC events exceeds that on offer at the four majors and thus only those with a sufficient world ranking can tee it up. Unfortunately, those eligible to enter don't always do so, much to the chagrin of golf fans around the world.

The first WGC Event of the year is the World Matchplay Championship that since 2009 has been held in February at the Dove Mountain Resort in Marana, Arizona. The remainder of the WGC calendar are stroke play events, held in March, July and November. Given the prestige of these events, as a fan you could assume that should you visit one, or view on TV you would hope the world's best golfers were there. The first problem, concerning only the Matchplay, is the format itself, which can't be helped or remedied, given it's an ageless format, played everywhere from the Presidents Cup, to friends becoming enemies at a

suburban course over a beer on a Thursday afternoon. However, the cut-throat "lose and eliminated" nature of the WGC event, can see several "top seeds" or tournament draw cards out on the first day of matches, reducing viewers and crowd numbers for following days, the second issue, a more serious one, concerns the timing and the venue at which it is held.

Again, unfortunately for fans of true golf, WGC seems to have fallen on it's own sword,

completely against the grain of why it was founded in the first place. Golf, be it rightly or wrongly is seen by the majority as exclusive, yet it is a rare bird. A sport where every day people, like you and me can run

our hands over the very same grass as Jack Nicklaus once did. As Adam Scott still does. Irrespective of whether you're a professional, your name is stitched on your bag and you have certain shoes to match with certain slacks, or whether you're like me, one who swears a little too much on the course with an abysmal short game who just happens to love the game and every aspect of it, we can both tee it up at The St Andrews Old Course or Pebble Beach.

With no airs or graces at all, for a not always exorbitant price (and more than a slice of luck should you know the right people) I can, with a hangover and cobwebs on my clubs, drive into Royal Melbourne Golf Club and play the course, where not 18 months ago, Tiger Woods and co. won the Presidents Cup. I can drive into Yarra Yarra Golf Club, and with a bent, hand-me-down putter, could three putt the very same green where Gary Player claimed his first professional victory in 1956. Brilliant courses, made by brilliant designers such as Alistair MacKenzie, Pete Dye, Robert Trent Jones and Albert Tillinghast are littered like geographic art all over countless countries world wide, yet the WGC, and unfortunately most major tours world wide have lost sight of golf traditions, and simply chase the all important dollar.

By Alex Strauch