By Rob Willis
The recent announcements of a major sponsor for the Australian PGA Championship, the two courses set to host the Australian Open, the increased purse for the NSW Open and the summer tournament schedule, had my thoughts drifting back to days gone by.
Back to a time before the US PGA Tour extended their schedule to run year-round, overlapping a period traditionally reserved for international tournaments in Australia, South Africa and to a lesser extent Asia, a time when LIV was a long way from being a thing, and when there was enough money in the kitty to attract the biggest names in golf to visit our shores and compete in our signature events.
My first memories of watching big time golf was at the 1982 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney when the late, great, Bob Shearer took down Jack Nicklaus and Payne Stewart in a final day shootout.
It was way back when the ball didn’t travel obscene distances and when drivers were made of wood, requiring golfers to strike the ball in the middle of the face to make it go long and straight, Shearer clinching victory by striping a long iron over the water and into the middle of the green on the par-five 18th hole.
Amongst the crowd adjacent to the green, while excited to see Shearer win, I was mesmerized by the power, skill and nerve of Nicklaus, who was still good enough to win a US Masters some four years later, along with Stewart, a young up-and-comer who would later become a major champion.
A year prior I watched the TV coverage when reigning British Open champion Bill Rogers won our national Open at the Victoria Golf Club, while going further back in time, Nicklaus, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, would make regular visits to our shores. Player was a seven-time Australian Open champion, Nicklaus a winner on six occasions and going even further back the great Bobby Locke battled the likes of Norman Von Nida, Kel Nagle and Peter Thomson in our local tournaments.
Those greats of the past, plus a few to come after them, declined to use the excuse of the distance to travel, when planes were less comfortable and flying times in excess of what they are now. They recognised the quality of our courses and the importance of making golf a truly international game.
Playing nine holes in the company of Australian PGA CEO Gavin Kirkman at the NSW Golf Club, on the day the 2024 pre-Christmas tournament schedule was released, the conversation topic shifted to the challenge of attracting world class players to compete in our highest profile events.
Looking through the records to jog the memory, and the very best of their day would find a way to play Australian events, names such as Ballesteros, Watson, Irwin, Montgomerie, Langer and Faldo, Bubba Watson, Mark Calcavecchia, Lee Westwood, Brad Faxon and Justin Rose, just to name a few.
In more recent times Jordan Speith came and conquered, victorious in two Australian Opens, Rory McIlroy was a winner at Royal Sydney.
Then there was Tiger. I was in the field when he played at The Australian as an amateur. He returned a number of times after that. The tournaments he played likely had to sell the farm to get him here, however nobody who saw him play will likely ever forget it.
And as good as they were, more often than not international visitors of note were sent on their way after receiving a beating from our talented locals of the 1980’s, ‘90’s and into the early 2000’s. Greg Norman, Shark pun intended, was the biggest fish of them all, add in Peter Senior, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, Craig Parry, Geoff Ogilvy, Aaron Baddeley, Peter Lonard or Greg Chalmers, I’ve probably missed a few more. They were always hard to beat, the major TV networks covered the tournaments, and it was often compelling sporting theatre.
More recently Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman have given back and returned home for the summer, Matt Jones is a two-time Aussie open champ, while Min Woo Lee is now a headline act whenever he tees it up.
But the above is 700-odd words getting to the question of who you might like to see strutting their stuff during the Australian golfing summer. Gavin, the PGA and Golf Australia would be interested to hear.
We are somewhat spoiled by LIV Adelaide when it comes to big names, despite their being an argument some of their contingent may be past their prime, however having the leading players competing for our biggest and most prestigious trophies would be the preference.
Rory talked a big game, saying the status of national championships such as ours should be elevated. It will be interesting if he now walks the walk or if others were listening and agreed with his sentiment.
So, the hope is that all the jet-setting Australians return, but that they are joined by their international counterparts. That being the case, who else would you like to see at Royal Queensland for the PGA, down in Melbourne for the Open, perhaps even in regional NSW for the state open?
I have my thoughts, would be interesting to hear yours. I’m not sure how fat the cheque books of the respective tournaments are, which unfortunately these days can dictate who they can attract, but I’m keen to hear what you think.
Get in touch – If you have an opinion on this or any other topic in the magazine, send your letter to the editor to rob@insidegolf.com.au and you’ll be in the running to win a gripping prize.
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