from the ceo
Coca-Cola reaffirms
golf commitment
Karen Lunn
Executive Director – ALPG
T
he world of golf recently had the
opportunity to witness something
unique when the US Men’s and Women’s
Opens were held at the magnificent Pinehurst
number 2 course over consecutive weeks.
Even though there was some scepticism
about the events being held back to back,
I think that from all of the stakeholders’
perspectives the outcomes were extremely
positive. From the USGA’s perspective they
saved a huge amount of money on costs
as there was only one set of infrastructure
required and only one team of officials at
one venue. From the players’ perspective I
think that the men were not affected in any
adverse way, they played the course first, and
as they would normally, not a piece of grass
out of place and perfect greens. From the
women’s side, there were mixed reactions
when the back to back Opens were first
announced, with many high-profile players
openly critical of the controversial concept.
By the time the event was underway most of
the LPGA players who had initially thought
the idea was a slight on Women’s Golf had
spun a 180 and were now seeing this as a
huge opportunity. Never before had the
US Women’s Open received so much pretournament publicity and interest.
I know that many of the LPGA members
and other competitors due to play the
following week were glued to their TV
screens watching the Men’s Open, and I know
that there were many caddies also watching
with their yardage books and notebook and
pen in hand!
A top course and big crowds brought smiles to many faces at this year’s US Women’s Open,
including Australia’s Minjee Lee (Photo: John Mummert)
Many of the women playing arrived at
Pinehurst on the Sunday and I know quite a
few enjoyed inside the ropes access watching
Martin Kaymer cruising to his first US Open
title. One of the first players on the green
to congratulate Martin was fellow German
professional Sandra Gal. Michelle Wie, the
eventual winner of the Women’s Open was
given yardage books by Rickie Fowler and
Keegan Bradley and she attributed their
notes to being a big factor in her victory.
In short, the experiment was a successful
one, and shows that the combination or
integration or whatever you want to call
it of the women’s and men’s professional
events can be a very positive experience for
everyone involved. Golf Victoria were the first
to experiment with a similar kind of strategy
when in 2012 they resurrected the women’s
Victorian Open and held it alongside the
Men’s Open. In 2012 the event was held over
two courses at Spring Valley and Woodlands
and was a great success, and has continued
to grow in stature since moving to the
magnificent 13th Beach course at Barwon
Heads in 2013. There are two courses at 13th
Beach, and this enables the crowds to watch
the ladies and men in action at the same
venue.
I genuinely believe that the model for
this event is something that every state in
Australia should consider. For those who
were at 13th Beach in February this year
and witnessed the huge galleries following
as Minjee Lee and Matt Griffin won their
respective titles, will have been left with no
doubt that Golf Victoria has created a very
special event.
The PGA of Australia (PGA) and CocaCola Amatil (CCA) have announced the
continuation of their major partnership,
taking the relationship through to the
end of 2018.
The renewed agreement will see CCA
refocus its Australian golf strategy with