Q Golf - Official online magazine for Golf Queensland Spring 2013 | Page 16
t Cooper’s Blog
Mat
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World Cup of Golf gets Kiss of Life
There was a time when golf’s World Cup had prestige.
Founded in 1953 to foster international goodwill through
golf its early winners indicate how highly thought of it was
- Ben Hogan and Sam Snead won it in 1956, Arnold Palmer
and Jack Nicklaus were regular victors in the 60s and 70s,
Seve Ballesteros is on the winner’s roster, as is Gary Player
and Peter Thomson.
The event travelled around the world - to Greece,
Colombia, Mexico and, long before the Asian Tour,
Thailand. But by the early 1980s is had lost its lustre. The
Americans won in 1983, but their team tells you all you
need to know about how that country now treated the
event - Rex Caldwell and John Cook lifted the trophy, two
names which don’t compare to Jack’s and Arnie’s.
The tournament limped on, stuck at the end of the season,
increasingly seen as a silly season event. Every couple of
years something would be done to boost its profile. At
the start of the 21st century it became a WGC event. That
lasted seven years and then quietly stopped.
Then it found a semi-permanent home in China, at the
Mission Hills resort in China. It was part attempted
resuscitation of an old event, part marketing ploy for the
resort and Chinese golf. It kept the idea alive, but failed to
attract a high quality field and therefore revive past glories.
This year there is another shot at giving it the kiss of life as
it is hosted by Royal Melbourne Golf Club. In a sense the
World Cup is heading back to its roots - a traditional event,
played on a classic course, taking golf around the world.
The venue (the country as well as the course) deserves it:
the event adds something to the short Australian Swing
and you hope the World Cup will gain something in return.
A good field, supported by the world’s very best players,
would be a start and the course might attract a few.
A curious feature of this year’s renewal is that the format
will ape the new Olympic format. Rather than being
primarily about team, it will now become more of an
individual competition. Sixty players will qualify from the
world rankings - two from each country (but up to four if
the players are in the top 15). It will be 72-hole strokeplay
with the top two scores counting for a sideshow
team event.
If it succeeds it in revitalizing a once-loved event Royal
Melbourne and Australia can take plenty of credit. But the
added individual nature of the format will be responsible
too. Many golfers around the world crave the chance to
play for their country. But the very best players in the
world? They play for themselves first and foremost.
16 Q Golf Online Spring 2013 | www.golfqueensland.org.au