An Internationals versus Europe tournament would help further grow and promote golf Down Under
The thrilling Presidents Cup contest between the Internationals and USA teams at Royal Melbourne proves there is an appetite for more elite golf events Down Under, writes Grady Hudd.
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Royal Melbourne delivered the ultimate golfing theatre for the Presidents Cup this past week.
For golf fans far and wide, myself included, being in the thick of the action as the likes of Americans Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson duked it out with hometown heroes Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith was, in many ways, a once in a lifetime experience.
Especially so on Australian soil, where the Presidents Cup has only graced our shores three times in its 25-year existence.
When you look at some of the players who competed when the Cup was last contested at Royal Melbourne in 2011 – including Ernie Els, K. J. Choi, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk – it’s not a stretch to suggest we may never see some of the latest visiting golfers play live Down Under ever again.
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Should the Americans return to Australia in 10 years’ time, it’s inevitable Woods (currently 43-years-old) and Matt Kuchar (41) would not be part of the team, and it’s unlikely Johnson or Webb Simpson would feature again either given they’d be into their 40s.
While the Yanks occasionally venture away from the PGA Tour to play on the European circuit, they almost never play in Oz - young gun Cameron Champ’s upcoming appearance at the Australian PGA Championship this week is one exception.
Because of this, the Presidents Cup was truly a rare opportunity to see some of the world’s best golfers in the flesh – and they certainly turned it on for the thousands of fans who had journeyed to the country’s sporting mecca to watch them.
The atmosphere for this on 18 was unreal! Shame An missed the putt. Electric finish #PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/l16dTW1ouL
— Grady Hudd (@Grady_Hudd) December 14, 2019
But it was only when the Cup had been won and the acute disappointment of an Internationals’ defeat had subsided somewhat, that the realisation hit that I may never witness these golfers play live again.
Even worse, it dawned on me that unless I travelled abroad I would probably never have the opportunity to see some of the European stars compete in Australia – such as the likes of Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, Spaniard Jon Rahm, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood or Italian Francesco Molinari.
That’s because there is no competition like the Presidents Cup where an Internationals team is pitted against a European team.
The Europeans take on the USA for the Ryder Cup, which is arguably the biggest team golfing tournament in the world, but they never go head to head with the Internationals.
And after being at Royal Melbourne for a few days, I – and the mates who I talked about this idea with at the tournament – certainly believe they should.
We’re not alone either, with Danish pro Thomas Bjorn tweeting in support of such an event after the strong turnout of fans over the four days.
From what I witnessed, there would absolutely be an appetite for a European versus Internationals tournament.
The buzz and energy around the 18th green on Saturday when Benny An had a putt to give he and Joaquin Niemann victory over Kuchar and Tony Finau – which he unfortunately missed – is something I’ll never forget.
Watching the golf from Royal Melbourne makes me think that a run of events sanctioned between @PGAofAustralia @EuropeanTour and @PGATOUR in December would be a great opportunity...
— Thomas Bjorn (@thomasbjorngolf) December 14, 2019
All tours would win and so would the fans....
Aussie Open should be a bigger event than it is...
And, I think it’s a shame Aussie fans have to wait potentially another decade to experience again.
But more than that, the Australian PGA and European tours are missing a huge opportunity to capitalise on the love for golf that thousands of Aussies, and travelling international fans, clearly have.
The Presidents Cup, for an event that has so much prestige and competitiveness associated with it, is relatively new when you consider golf has been around for well over 100 years.
Set against that backdrop, there’s no reason why an International versus Europe tournament couldn’t be introduced and grow to have the same appeal for golf fans.
It may never happen - and no doubt there’s a lot of hurdles to jump over to make it a reality - but if it does I’ll snap up a ticket faster than you can imagine.
And I guarantee I wouldn’t be the only one.