Peter Williams: Money's too tight to mention on Tour right now

The plan to include the South Island, North Island and New Zealand strokeplay championships into the Golf Tour New Zealand (GTNZ) circuit this year has been shelved. That means the tournaments will again be played by amateurs only and the opportunity for fledgling professionals - like Doug Holloway, Josh Carmichael and Brad Shilton - to get serious, tournament-competitive play in these events will have to wait at least another year.

Some sponsors were close to being signed but, with the South Island Championship scheduled for the Otago Golf Club in just five weeks, a lack of time to confirm arrangements and few guaranteed professional players proved to be killer blows. The New Zealand PGA has confirmed pro-ams in the North Harbour and Northland regions around that time and many of the professionals for whom GTNZ events are designed, have committed to play in the north.

To say the GTNZ hasn't been a roaring success so far is somewhat of an understatement. The Taranaki Open has been successfully played for two years but that's it. But an event is planned for Tauranga from May 18-21 and sponsors who nearly committed to the South Island Championships seem enthusiastic about backing a tournament in Dunedin in the spring.

That Greg Turner and his associates should be finding difficulty raising money for this concept is not surprising. Golf tours everywhere are finding economic conditions more severe than they have for some time. For example, a new six-year television deal in the US, announced last month, is worth less than the current $US1.1 billion four-year deal and ABC and ESPN have given the sport away completely from next year because they lose money broadcasting it.

The one type of tournament which can still raise the money in this country is the pro-am. The NZPGA is enthusiastically promoting them and in the most out-of-the-way places come the success stories.

Last weekend, Tim Wilkinson successfully defended his title at the Masterton-Eketahuna Pro-Am. He won around $2700 from the total purse of $15,000. In the coming weeks there are events at Hamilton, North Shore, Lakes Resort (Pauanui) Omaha, Pupuke and Mangawhai, offering between $10,000 and $20,000 for either one-or two-round events.

The catch is they are pro-ams, where the amateurs' entry fees make up the bulk of the prize money and the professionals have to play with a group of club players of varying ability. As social events for the amateurs, they are good fun and the privilege has been paid for. As a serious, competitive exercise for aspiring tournament players, they are of questionable value. Also, as they are often 'shotgun' starts (groups start from different tees at the same time rather than all off the first), professionals have no idea how their competitors are doing and thus cannot be put in the pressure situations they would encounter in a fully competitive event.

But their popularity is unquestioned because an average 18-handicapper loves the chance to play with a professional, even if he's a club pro who battles to break 80.

The challenge now for New Zealand Golf, the New Zealand PGA and GTNZ is to find a way to channel some of the pro-am money into four-round, fully-competitive events which will really benefit the country's elite players, professional and amateur.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY