20 of the world's best golfers have come together this week to play for a $3,500,000 prize fund with a $1,000,000 winners cheque, A SUM WHICH UNFORTUNATELY THE ORGANISERS OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN AND THE ARGENTINA OPEN CAN ONLY DREAM OF BEING ABLE TO OFFER THE PLAYERS COMPETING IN THEIR FIELDS THIS WEEK. YES THE HERO WORLD CHALLENGE, RUN BY THE TIGER WOODS FOUNDATION, WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE BAHAMAS, AND WILL ALSO HOG ALL THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF GOLF AROUND THE WORLD, WHILST NO DOUBT GROWING THE GAME OF GOLF IN THE Archipelago WITHIN THE CARIBBEAN WITH A POPULATION OF UNDER 400,000. THAT'S SARCASM AND IRONY IF YOU DIDN'T TELL.
MEANWHILE 4,471 MILES SOUTH, SOUTH WEST OF THE BAHAMAS 156 GOLFERS WILL BE PLAYING THE 115TH EDITION OF THE ARGENTINA OPEN. THE ARGENTINA OPEN IS A NATIONAL OPEN FIRST PLAYED IN 1905 AND ESTABLISHED BY MUNGO PARK JUNIOR, ONE OF THE FAMOUS PARK FAMILY WHICH WON A TOTAL OF 7 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, INCLUDING THE FIRST IN 1860. THE TITLE HAS BEEN WON BY ROBERTO DE VICENZO, ANGEL CABRERA, JIM FURYK, MARK O'MEARA, MARK CALCAVECCHIA, JIMMY DEMARET, HENRY PICARD AND MUNGO PARK JR HIMSELF WON IT THREE TIMES.
4,772 MILES WEST OF ARGENTINA ANOTHER 156 PLAYERS ARE COMPETING IN THE 111TH EDITION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN, A NATIONAL OPEN WHICH WAS FIRST PLAYED IN 1903, MAKING IT THE SECOND OLDEST OPEN IN GOLF, ONLY THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ITSELF IS OLDER AMONGST EXISTING TOURNAMENTS TODAY. THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN HAS BEEN WON BY GARY PLAYER, BOBBY LOCKE, ERNIE ELS, RETIEF GOOSEN, TREVOR IMMELMAN, HENRIK STENSON, LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, BRANDEN GRACE, VIJAY SINGH AND BOB CHARLES - PLAYERS WHO HAVE WON A COMBINED 26 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.
EVEN WITH A DP WORLD TOUR SANCTIONING, WHICH WAS REMOVED DUE TO COVID19 PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS, THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN WOULD NOT COME CLOSE TO ATTRACTING A GENUINELY WORLD CLASS FIELD, DESPITE THE HISTORY, THE HERITAGE AND THE TRULY UNBELIEVABLE COURSES IT HAS BEEN PLAYED ON OVER THE YEARS. THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE ARGENTINA OPEN, WHICH WAS FOR ONE YEAR, 2001, A EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT.
GOLF TOURNAMENTS USED TO HAVE THEIR OWN IDENTITY, AND WHILST THAT IS CERTAINLY TRUE OF THE MAJORS TODAY, THE REST OF WORLD GOLF HAS BECOME SO ORDINARY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, THE CHARACTER HAS GONE FROM THE GAME. THE CHARACTER HAS DISAPPEARED FROM THE GOLF COURSES THE BEST IN THE WORLD PLAY ON, AND EVERY TOURNAMENT LOOKS THE SAME, BUT THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE HAS DIMINISHED DRAMATICALLY.
THIS CAN BE SEEN WITH THE MEXICO OPEN, WHICH HAS REPLACED THE WGC-MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE PGA TOUR SCHEDULE. THE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS PLAYED AT CHAPULTEPEC GOLF CLUB IN MEXICO CITY, A TIGHT AND RELATIVELY SHORT, BUT CHARACTERFUL AND DEMANDING COURSE WHICH PRODUCED EXCITING GOLF AT THE END OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. FROM 2022 THE MEXICO OPEN WILL BE PLAYED AT A RESORT COURSE DESIGNED, SOMEWHAT IRONICALLY, BY GREG NORMAN.
ASIDE FROM THE RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES MOST OF THIS GENERATION WILL GO THROUGH THEIR ENTIRE CAREERS WITHOUT PLAYING A COMPETITIVE ROUND OF GOLF IN SOUTH AMERICA, YET THE CONTINENT HAS PRODUCED TWO MAJOR CHAMPIONS, AS MANY AS ASIA. BACK IN 2000 THE WGC-EMC WORLD CUP WAS PLAYED IN ARGENTINA AND FEATURED A TREMENDOUS FIELD IN A TOURNAMENT WON BY THE USA REPRESENTED BY TIGER WOODS AND DAVID DUVAL. BUT THE NEXT YEAR, THE 2001 ARGENTINA OPEN, WON BY A YOUNG ANGEL CABRERA, FEATURED A FIELD OF RELATIVE MINNOWS, JOURNEYMAN AND THE OCCASIONAL FUTURE MAJOR CHAMPION LIKE HENRIK STENSON AT THE VERY START OF HIS CAREER.
THAT 2001 ARGENTINA OPEN WAS PLAYED AT THE MAGNIFICENT JOCKEY CLUB IN BUENOS AIRES. THE PAR 70 COURSE MEASURED JUST 6731 YARDS, WHICH WAS STILL SHORT BACK THEN, BUT THE WINNING SCORE WAS JUST 12-UNDER-PAR. THIS SHOWS THE TREMENDOUS DESIGN AND THE VARIED TEST THAT THE COURSE WAS, SOMETHING WE JUST DO NOT SEE IN THE WORLD OF GOLF TODAY.
JUST 2 PLAYERS IN THE FIELD WERE RANKED INSIDE THE WORLD'S TOP 130, A STAGGERING STAT FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH OVER 100 YEARS OF HISTORY, ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST GOLF TOURNAMENTS. AND IT SHOULD BE A STAT WHICH REFLECTS POORLY ON THOSE IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD'S PROFESSIONAL TOURS TODAY. ARGENTINA IS A SPORTS MAD COUNTRY, WITH AN OBVIOUS PASSION FOR FOOTBALL, BUT ALSO FOR RUGBY, TENNIS AND GOLF. ARGENTINA AS A COUNTRY HAS WON 3 MEN'S MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, THAT IS 3 TIMES AS MANY AS JAPAN, SWEDEN, FRANCE, ITALY, CANADA AND KOREA, 1 MORE THAN NEW ZEALAND, 3 MORE THAN CHINA, DUBAI, ABU DHABI, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, SWITZERLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, AUSTRIA, MEXICO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND PUERTO RICO. YET ALL OF THESE NATIONS HOST EVENTS ON EITHER THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR, BUT ARGENTINA DOES NOT.
SO WHILST THE HERO WORLD CHALLENGE WILL TAKE THE LIMELIGHT THIS WEEK, I'LL BE SEARCHING HIGH AND LOW TO FIND COVERAGE OF THE ARGENTINA OPEN, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO, AS IT ISN'T BEING BROADCAST LIVE ON UK OR US TELEVISION. BUT I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, I WANT TO SEE THE HISTORY OF THE GAME, NOT YET ANOTHER ORDINARY EVENT FEATURING THE SAME PLAYERS PLAYING ON A BORING COURSE ON AN ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN WHICH WILL NEVER PRODUCE A PROFESSIONAL GOLFER, LET ALONE 2 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING ONES.
LIVE SCORING FOR THE ARGENTINA OPEN IS AVAILABLE HERE
MEANWHILE 4,471 MILES SOUTH, SOUTH WEST OF THE BAHAMAS 156 GOLFERS WILL BE PLAYING THE 115TH EDITION OF THE ARGENTINA OPEN. THE ARGENTINA OPEN IS A NATIONAL OPEN FIRST PLAYED IN 1905 AND ESTABLISHED BY MUNGO PARK JUNIOR, ONE OF THE FAMOUS PARK FAMILY WHICH WON A TOTAL OF 7 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, INCLUDING THE FIRST IN 1860. THE TITLE HAS BEEN WON BY ROBERTO DE VICENZO, ANGEL CABRERA, JIM FURYK, MARK O'MEARA, MARK CALCAVECCHIA, JIMMY DEMARET, HENRY PICARD AND MUNGO PARK JR HIMSELF WON IT THREE TIMES.
4,772 MILES WEST OF ARGENTINA ANOTHER 156 PLAYERS ARE COMPETING IN THE 111TH EDITION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN, A NATIONAL OPEN WHICH WAS FIRST PLAYED IN 1903, MAKING IT THE SECOND OLDEST OPEN IN GOLF, ONLY THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ITSELF IS OLDER AMONGST EXISTING TOURNAMENTS TODAY. THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN HAS BEEN WON BY GARY PLAYER, BOBBY LOCKE, ERNIE ELS, RETIEF GOOSEN, TREVOR IMMELMAN, HENRIK STENSON, LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, BRANDEN GRACE, VIJAY SINGH AND BOB CHARLES - PLAYERS WHO HAVE WON A COMBINED 26 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.
EVEN WITH A DP WORLD TOUR SANCTIONING, WHICH WAS REMOVED DUE TO COVID19 PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS, THE SOUTH AFRICAN OPEN WOULD NOT COME CLOSE TO ATTRACTING A GENUINELY WORLD CLASS FIELD, DESPITE THE HISTORY, THE HERITAGE AND THE TRULY UNBELIEVABLE COURSES IT HAS BEEN PLAYED ON OVER THE YEARS. THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE ARGENTINA OPEN, WHICH WAS FOR ONE YEAR, 2001, A EUROPEAN TOUR EVENT.
GOLF TOURNAMENTS USED TO HAVE THEIR OWN IDENTITY, AND WHILST THAT IS CERTAINLY TRUE OF THE MAJORS TODAY, THE REST OF WORLD GOLF HAS BECOME SO ORDINARY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, THE CHARACTER HAS GONE FROM THE GAME. THE CHARACTER HAS DISAPPEARED FROM THE GOLF COURSES THE BEST IN THE WORLD PLAY ON, AND EVERY TOURNAMENT LOOKS THE SAME, BUT THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE HAS DIMINISHED DRAMATICALLY.
THIS CAN BE SEEN WITH THE MEXICO OPEN, WHICH HAS REPLACED THE WGC-MEXICO CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE PGA TOUR SCHEDULE. THE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS PLAYED AT CHAPULTEPEC GOLF CLUB IN MEXICO CITY, A TIGHT AND RELATIVELY SHORT, BUT CHARACTERFUL AND DEMANDING COURSE WHICH PRODUCED EXCITING GOLF AT THE END OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP. FROM 2022 THE MEXICO OPEN WILL BE PLAYED AT A RESORT COURSE DESIGNED, SOMEWHAT IRONICALLY, BY GREG NORMAN.
ASIDE FROM THE RIO 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES MOST OF THIS GENERATION WILL GO THROUGH THEIR ENTIRE CAREERS WITHOUT PLAYING A COMPETITIVE ROUND OF GOLF IN SOUTH AMERICA, YET THE CONTINENT HAS PRODUCED TWO MAJOR CHAMPIONS, AS MANY AS ASIA. BACK IN 2000 THE WGC-EMC WORLD CUP WAS PLAYED IN ARGENTINA AND FEATURED A TREMENDOUS FIELD IN A TOURNAMENT WON BY THE USA REPRESENTED BY TIGER WOODS AND DAVID DUVAL. BUT THE NEXT YEAR, THE 2001 ARGENTINA OPEN, WON BY A YOUNG ANGEL CABRERA, FEATURED A FIELD OF RELATIVE MINNOWS, JOURNEYMAN AND THE OCCASIONAL FUTURE MAJOR CHAMPION LIKE HENRIK STENSON AT THE VERY START OF HIS CAREER.
THAT 2001 ARGENTINA OPEN WAS PLAYED AT THE MAGNIFICENT JOCKEY CLUB IN BUENOS AIRES. THE PAR 70 COURSE MEASURED JUST 6731 YARDS, WHICH WAS STILL SHORT BACK THEN, BUT THE WINNING SCORE WAS JUST 12-UNDER-PAR. THIS SHOWS THE TREMENDOUS DESIGN AND THE VARIED TEST THAT THE COURSE WAS, SOMETHING WE JUST DO NOT SEE IN THE WORLD OF GOLF TODAY.
JUST 2 PLAYERS IN THE FIELD WERE RANKED INSIDE THE WORLD'S TOP 130, A STAGGERING STAT FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH OVER 100 YEARS OF HISTORY, ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST GOLF TOURNAMENTS. AND IT SHOULD BE A STAT WHICH REFLECTS POORLY ON THOSE IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD'S PROFESSIONAL TOURS TODAY. ARGENTINA IS A SPORTS MAD COUNTRY, WITH AN OBVIOUS PASSION FOR FOOTBALL, BUT ALSO FOR RUGBY, TENNIS AND GOLF. ARGENTINA AS A COUNTRY HAS WON 3 MEN'S MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, THAT IS 3 TIMES AS MANY AS JAPAN, SWEDEN, FRANCE, ITALY, CANADA AND KOREA, 1 MORE THAN NEW ZEALAND, 3 MORE THAN CHINA, DUBAI, ABU DHABI, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, SWITZERLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, AUSTRIA, MEXICO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND PUERTO RICO. YET ALL OF THESE NATIONS HOST EVENTS ON EITHER THE PGA TOUR AND DP WORLD TOUR, BUT ARGENTINA DOES NOT.
SO WHILST THE HERO WORLD CHALLENGE WILL TAKE THE LIMELIGHT THIS WEEK, I'LL BE SEARCHING HIGH AND LOW TO FIND COVERAGE OF THE ARGENTINA OPEN, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO, AS IT ISN'T BEING BROADCAST LIVE ON UK OR US TELEVISION. BUT I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, I WANT TO SEE THE HISTORY OF THE GAME, NOT YET ANOTHER ORDINARY EVENT FEATURING THE SAME PLAYERS PLAYING ON A BORING COURSE ON AN ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN WHICH WILL NEVER PRODUCE A PROFESSIONAL GOLFER, LET ALONE 2 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING ONES.
LIVE SCORING FOR THE ARGENTINA OPEN IS AVAILABLE HERE
The Jack Nicklaus-designed Nordelta Golf Club is welcoming THE ARGENTINA OPEN for the fourth time. (Media/PGA TOUR)
