15 MARCH, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: THE PRESIDENTS CUP RETURNS LATER THIS YEAR AT QUAIL HOLLOW COUNTRY CLUB, FOR YET ANOTHER EDITION OF 'HOW EASILY WILL THE AMERICANS WIN?', THIS GLOBAL BIENNIAL CONTEST NEEDS REFRESHING, AND THE PGA TOUR NEEDS THE PRESIDENTS CUP TO SUCCEED, OTHERWISE IT WILL SURELY DIE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
THE PLAYERS ELIGIBLE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM ARE IN THE MIDST OF A RE-EMERGENCE ON THE WORLD STAGE, MOST NOTABLY WITH HIDEKI MATSUYAMA WINNING THE MASTERS AND CAMERON SMITH WINNING THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT WHILST THE FOCUS IS ON GOLFERS FROM ASIA AND AUSTRALIA, THERE IS SOMETHING BUBBLING UP IN SOUTH AMERICA.
CHILE'S JOAQUIN NIEMANN HAS BECOME ARGUABLY THE FACE OF SOUTH AMERICAN GOLF, WINNING THE RECENT GENESIS INVITATIONAL AT RIVIERA, AND NIEMANN'S COUNTRYMAN MITO PEREIRA AND COLOMBIAN SEBASTIAN MUNOZ ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF FORM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, WITH SOUTH AMERICAN GOLFERS WINNING 3 times on the pga tour in the last 3 years, along with AN ADDITIONAL 3 WINS ON THE KORN FERRY TOUR IN THE SAME PERIOD. FOLLOWING THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP THERE ARE FOUR SOUTH AMERICAN GOLFERS INSIDE THE WORLD'S TOP 100, AND NIEMANN IS SET TO QUALIFY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM THIS SEPTEMBER, WITH MUNOZ, VEGAS AND PEREIRA ALL JUST OUTSIDE THE QUALIFYING PLACES.
OF COURSE, A VICTORY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM, FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS CENTURY, WOULD BE MASSIVE FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP, BUT SO WOULD MAKING THIS EVENT TRULY GLOBAL IN SCALE. SINCE THE FIRST PRESIDENTS CUP IN 1994 THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM HAS PLAYED AT 'HOME' 3 TIMES IN AUSTRALIA, 2 TIMES IN CANADA, ONCE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ONCE IN SOUTH KOREA.
CHILE'S JOAQUIN NIEMANN HAS BECOME ARGUABLY THE FACE OF SOUTH AMERICAN GOLF, WINNING THE RECENT GENESIS INVITATIONAL AT RIVIERA, AND NIEMANN'S COUNTRYMAN MITO PEREIRA AND COLOMBIAN SEBASTIAN MUNOZ ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF FORM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, WITH SOUTH AMERICAN GOLFERS WINNING 3 times on the pga tour in the last 3 years, along with AN ADDITIONAL 3 WINS ON THE KORN FERRY TOUR IN THE SAME PERIOD. FOLLOWING THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP THERE ARE FOUR SOUTH AMERICAN GOLFERS INSIDE THE WORLD'S TOP 100, AND NIEMANN IS SET TO QUALIFY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM THIS SEPTEMBER, WITH MUNOZ, VEGAS AND PEREIRA ALL JUST OUTSIDE THE QUALIFYING PLACES.
OF COURSE, A VICTORY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM, FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS CENTURY, WOULD BE MASSIVE FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP, BUT SO WOULD MAKING THIS EVENT TRULY GLOBAL IN SCALE. SINCE THE FIRST PRESIDENTS CUP IN 1994 THE INTERNATIONAL TEAM HAS PLAYED AT 'HOME' 3 TIMES IN AUSTRALIA, 2 TIMES IN CANADA, ONCE IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ONCE IN SOUTH KOREA.
BUT WITH THE RISE OF SOUTH AMERICAN GOLFERS OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS AND SOME 12 YEARS REMOVED FROM THE RIO OLYMPIC GAMES, SURELY 2028 WOULD BE THE PERFECT TIME FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP TO BE STAGED IN SOUTH AMERICA. WITH NO BRAZILIAN ANYWHERE NEAR THE LEVEL GOOD ENOUGH TO QUALIFY FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP, IT WOULD BE A GOOD MOVE FOR THE EVENT AND FOR THE SPORT FOR THE PRESIDENTS CUP TO BE PLAYED IN CHILE OR COLOMBIA.
SO WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?
SO WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?
COLOMBIA
COLOMBIA HAS THE THIRD MOST GOLF COURSES IN SOUTH AMERICA (60), AFTER ARGENTINA (308) AND BRAZIL (129), AND THE COLOMBIAN OPEN HAS BEEN PLAYED SINCE 1945, WITH THE COLOMBIAN GOLF FEDERATION ESTABLISHED IN THE FOLLOWING YEAR (1946). THE KORN FERRY TOUR HAS STAGED THE COLOMBIA CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 2010, AND COLOMBIA HAS, OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, PRODUCED PLAYERS OF REALT TALENT, PLAYING ON THE PGA TOUR INCLUDING CAMILO VILLEGAS AND SEBASTIAN MUNOZ. A PRESIDENTS CUP IN CANADA COULD SEE THE SPORT GROW RAPIDLY, AND THERE IS HUGE SCOPE FOR GROWTH WHEN YOU CONSIDER ONLY 14,745 OF THE POPULATION OF 50,372,424 PLAY THE GAME.
BOGOTA IS THE CAPITAL CITY, WITH A POPULATION OF 10,700,000, PUTTING IT ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST ICONIC CAPITAL CITIES IN TERMS OF POPULATION, AND THE CITY IS HOME TO TWO POTENTIAL HOST COURSES FOR A PRESIDENTS CUP.
BOGOTA IS THE CAPITAL CITY, WITH A POPULATION OF 10,700,000, PUTTING IT ALONGSIDE SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST ICONIC CAPITAL CITIES IN TERMS OF POPULATION, AND THE CITY IS HOME TO TWO POTENTIAL HOST COURSES FOR A PRESIDENTS CUP.
COUNTRY CLUB DE BOGOTA
THE COUNTRY CLUB DE BOGOTA IS THE HOST TO THE COLOMBIA CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE KORN FERRY TOUR, AND HAS STAGED NUMEROUS COLOMBIAN OPENS SINCE IT OPENED IN 1917, THE COURSE, DESPITE ITS AGE, HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO 7,237 yards, MAKING IT CLEARLY CAPABLE OF TESTING THE BEST IN THE WORLD. AND ITS LOCATION, IN THE HEART OF THE CITY, MAKES IT PERFECT TO HOST SUCH A BIG EVENT, AND COULD REALLY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SPARK INTEREST IN THE GAME AFTER THE MATCHES HAVE ENDED.
Enrique Berardi/PGA TOUR
Club Campestre Guaymaral
THE CLUB CAMPESTRE GUAYMARAL HAS HOSTED SEVERAL COLOMBIAN OPENS OVER THE YEARS AND EVENTS ON THE PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA, AND IS LOCATED ON THE EDGE OF BOGOTA. THE CLUB IS CONSIDERABLY YOUNGER THAN THE COUNTRY CLUB OF BOGOTA, HAVING OPENED IN 1991, AND IS CONSEQUENTLY A MORE MODERN DESIGN THAN ITS OLDER, MORE ILLUSTRIOUS COUSIN DOWNTOWN.
CHILE
CHILE ALSO HAS 60 GOLF COURSES, AND MARGINALLY MORE GOLFERS (22,251) AND THE SPORT WAS ESTABLISHED HERE SLIGHTLY EARLIER THAN COLOMBIA, WITH THE CHILEAN GOLF FEDERATION LAUNCHING IN 1932. JOAQUIN NIEMANN IS THE FIRST REALLY PROMINENT GOLFER FROM CHILE TO HAVE ANY SUCCESS ON THE PGA TOUR, AND HIS AGE AND TALENT SEEM SET TO MAKE HIM A SUPERSTAR IN THE SPORT, ESPECIALLY IF HE CAN TAKE THE NEXT STEP AND CONTEND AT A MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP. IN 2028 NIEMANN WILL BE 29 AND POTENTIALLY AT HIS PEAK BY THEN, SO A PRESIDENTS CUP IN HIS HOMELAND COULD SEE HIM BECOME A SPORTING HERO.
NIEMANN IS FROM SANTIAGO, THE CAPITAL OF CHILE AND A CITY OF NEARLY 7 MILLION PEOPLE, VERY CAPABLE OF STAGING A BIG SPORTING EVENT, AND THERE ARE TWO COURSES WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN USED ON THE PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA, AND COULD COMFORTABLY STAGE A PRESIDENTS CUP. SANTIAGO WILL HOST THE 2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, AND GOLF WILL BE PART OF THAT MAJOR MULTI-SPORT EVENT.
NIEMANN IS FROM SANTIAGO, THE CAPITAL OF CHILE AND A CITY OF NEARLY 7 MILLION PEOPLE, VERY CAPABLE OF STAGING A BIG SPORTING EVENT, AND THERE ARE TWO COURSES WHICH HAVE ALREADY BEEN USED ON THE PGA TOUR LATINOAMERICA, AND COULD COMFORTABLY STAGE A PRESIDENTS CUP. SANTIAGO WILL HOST THE 2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, AND GOLF WILL BE PART OF THAT MAJOR MULTI-SPORT EVENT.
SANTIAGO, CHILE - NOV. 19, 2013: An aerial view of the Club de Golf Los Leones' golf course during practice for the Abierto de Chile. Enrique Berardi/PGA TOUR
CLUB DE GOLF LOS LEONES
ORIGINALLY FORMED AS THE SANTIAGO GOLF CLUB IN 1910, CLUB DE GOLF LOS LEONES IS ONE OF THE OLDEST CLUBS IN SOUTH AMERICA, ALTHOUGH THE CURRENT COURSE IS ONLY 90 YEARS OLD. THE COURSE HAS IN RECENT YEARS BEEN GIVEN AN UPGRADE BY THE RENOWNED GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS MCKENZIE AND EBERT.
SANTIAGO, CHILE – Scenic shot of the par-3 No. 2 during practice for the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Scotia Wealth Management Abierto de Chile presented by Volvo at Club de Golf Sport Francés on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. (Credit: PGA TOUR)
CLUB DE GOLF SPORT FRANCES
CLUB DE GOLF SPORT FRANCES WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1957 AND HAS HOSTED NUMEROUS CHILE OPENS OVER THE YEARS. THE CLUB IS LOCATED 18 KM NORTH EAST OF THE CITY CENTRE OF SANTIAGO.
