Golf: Open a swinging success

Open winner Niclas Fasth of Sweden tees off at the scenic 16th hole on his way to a 22-under par score. Picture / Fotopress

New Zealand Golf has an important few weeks ahead as it runs the rule over its first European Tour co-sanctioned Open.

The review process will be as important to the future of the tournament as was the event itself held at Gulf Harbour last week. I know for a fact that Larry Graham, chief executive of New Zealand Golf, certainly will not be complacent on what was achieved.

He has admitted to taking a fine toothcomb over every aspect of the Open in an effort to build on what is now a very solid platform.

There was the odd hiccup, which is to be expected at a new venue and with the added pressure to get it right, given its enhanced status. But New Zealand Golf and all those who had a hand in the running of the event can give themselves a qualified pat on the back.

My pre-Open opinion that officials should leave the Open at Gulf Harbour for next year, and perhaps 2007 as well, has not changed despite the view that the players took the course apart and the layout needed to be tougher.

If that was to happen, the big winner would have to be the Rodney District. Millions of dollars are to be injected into the community through staging an event of this magnitude.

After all, the players, organisers, sponsors, workers, volunteers and spectators have got to sleep and eat somewhere, let alone the exposure on TV worldwide.

At the same time, I'd still stick with my preference - and in talking to a few players last week, I am not alone in my opinion - that the Open should, in time, move around the country.

So what were the positives?

The course was beautifully presented. The turf managers and green staff did a fine job and left nothing to chance. It was the first time in several years that the practice facilities were not only on site but they were of the highest standard.

The off-course aspects, which are important in players' eyes, were generally impressive. From the moment players and their families arrived they were treated with great respect and no stones were left unturned. Having happy players would have been a huge goal at the beginning of the week, so mission accomplished.

And the negatives?

Off the course, there were some problems with the scheduling of the ferry service from downtown Auckland. For the spectators that elected to drive, the road works on the only road into Gulf Harbour did not help. However, I do accept that was out of officials' hands.

On the course, they will consider narrowing some fairways, making the rough more demanding, firming up the greens and maybe trimming a couple of par 5s to par 4s.

To be fair, had the wind blown as everyone expected, scoring would have been far tougher. Before the Open began, I doubt many would have picked the joint leaders, after 72 holes, to be at 22-under.

Which brings me to an important point. Is 22-under, with birdies and eagles galore, a better golfing spectacle than a course that is tough and demanding and only yielding a winning score of 7-under?

There is room for both. Remember, Phil Mickelson slashed the 36-hole and 54-hole scoring records at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week on his way to a 19-under winning score.

I doubt officials at Pebble Beach, one of the world's most famous layouts, will be making wholesale changes in an effort to diminish the scoring skills of some very talented players.

Where this issue does get interesting is whether New Zealand Golf wants to pursue the big names, now that it has a five-year deal in place.

It has had a policy in recent years of not paying appearance fees, so how will that affect the chances of attracting the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els or Retief Goosen in the years ahead?

Prior to the event being co-sanctioned and increasing the prize money to $1.5 million, the idea has been to put all available funds into the purse so all players have a chance to reap those benefits.

There may be a way around this. On the US PGA Tour, for example, the likes of Tiger Woods, Mickelson and Vijay Singh do not receive a cheque for simply turning up.

However, I know that Buick pay Woods an eight-figure sum to promote their brand and one of the conditions is that he play three of their four title sponsored events on Tour.

They have ads with Woods promoting their cars, but don't necessarily expect he'll sell them by simply showing that he drives one in a commercial.

They know that Woods is odds-on to be challenging for the title on the Sunday afternoon and when Tiger is in contention, history shows the TV ratings are high, and that makes perfect business sense to Buick.

No Woods invariably reduces the ratings. Ditto for Mickelson and Singh.

Neither normally played the respective tournaments sponsored by Ford and 84 Lumber, but those events are now firmly planted on their schedules.

It's not as simple as handing over a cheque, but you get the idea. I'm sure New Zealand Golf will look at a variety of strategies to try and attract the big names.

Here's another important point.

The likes of Montgomerie don't decide which tournaments they will play solely on appearance fees. When you've accomplished all he has, a hundred grand or so is not the only incentive to hop on a plane and come to Auckland.

Players like Monty want a challenge. I suspect when he saw rookie Oliver Wilson leading at 17-under going into the final round, and the winning score finishing at 22-under, he'll have closed the lid of his laptop.

Had he seen Niclas Fasth and Miles Tunnicliff scrapping away at 6 or 7-under that might have caught his eye as a prospective challenge worth considering. In that respect, perhaps the low scoring may not have helped the aim of getting the stars here.

Still, when Monty and co speak to their fellow European Tour regulars, they will hear some fairly positive stuff and hopefully will keep it in mind for the future. Who knows, the thought of trout fishing and a trek with their families might just be a good enough reason to play a golf tournament in Middle Earth.

A final thought on TV3 pulling the plug at 6pm on Sunday night. This is not the first time a television network has refused to stick its neck out and show the conclusion of a sports event they have been covering for the previous four days.

Obviously the playoff was entering prime time and the news is of utmost importance when it comes to that slot. However, I'd be extremely surprised if in the course of the forthcoming six-week, detailed debrief that the corporates don't stamp their feet.

That is what the sponsors pay their money for, having their name on screen, on the 18th green, when everything is on the line.

It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall for what promises to be a fascinating review of what, by and large, was a great start to the Open's new co-sanctioned life.

* Phil Tataurangi is one of New Zealand's leading golfers.