As a former winner of two BMW sponsored events in the last 10 years – the 2005 BMW Asian Open and 2013 BMW International Open – it would of course have been lovely to make it a hat-trick in the BMW Masters in China last week.
That didn’t happen, but three nice rounds in the 60s and another superbly run tournament by BMW combined to ensure that it was an extremely enjoyable week for me. It started in some style, too, with the official opening of The Els Club Teluk Datai, (pictured below) which took place last Tuesday in the company of Her Majesty Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Hajjah Haminah, The Queen of Malaysia, and selected VIP guests and media. It was a fantastic day and an honour for me to hit the opening tee shot alongside Her Majesty. All day it was gratifying to see everyone’s reaction and hear their comments on seeing this course. They were blown away by the sheer beauty of the location and quality of the layout.
It certainly is a special place and because of that, and its easy accessibility, I think it will be a perfect venue for an Asian Tour event. The first of our Els Clubs, in Dubai, has been announced as host venue of next month’s inaugural Dubai Open and, as an official ambassador of the Asian Tour, it would be a thrill if we could also bring an Asian Tour event to the Els Club Teluk Datai. It makes me proud to point out that another of our courses, The Els Club Copperleaf, has already hosted the European Tour’s Tshwane Open the past couple of seasons and got great reviews.
Anyway, we’ll be talking to people on the Asian Tour and seeing if we can make something happen. Our partners in this project, Destination Resort & Hotels, are fully engaged in the business of developing golf and bespoke tourism to this region, and an Asian Tour event would naturally be a real boost to that initiative. I know the tour pros would absolutely love it here. This course is unique, not least because it is bunker-free (which my great friend Gary Player might not be too pleased about!) but there are plenty of challenges on this course. It borders the fringes of a rain forest, so we’re not short of trees. Many of them are in strategic places, so you’ve got to shape shots around tree trunks and over-hanging limbs, and so forth. There’s also a stream that runs through the course. Trust me, no one who play this course is ever going to miss having bunkers.
As you will know, this current four-week stretch of tournaments has brought me to Asia for an entire month and it really is exciting to experience the enthusiasm that people here have for golf. It’s five years now since YE Yang claimed Asia’s first major championship, but it surely won’t be that long again before someone from this part of the world wins another. There are so many good Asian players winning on the PGA Tour on a fairly regular basis and that’s the biggest and most international Tour of all. Some of the Korean players, like Bae Sang Moon, are winning. Hideki Matsuyama is winning. There’s also Ryo Ishikawa and I still see a major in him. Asian players are playing well in Europe as well; Thongchai Jaidee has won there. On the Asian Tour there are some wonderful players, like Anirban Lahiri who won a couple of weeks ago at the Venetian Macau Open. Some of these guys are young and hungry and they understand what it takes to win golf tournaments; they now have to kick-on and win major tournaments. It’s only a matter of time. It’s hard to put a timeline on it but it’ll probably be inside the next five years.
So, back to this week’s WGC – HSBC Champions, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary. In that period of time this tournament has established itself as one of the best on the calendar for the players. HSBC are wonderful sponsors and supporters of golf around the world at all levels, from grass roots to flagship tournaments such as this. We’ve got a very strong field – with 40 of the world’s top 50 players and 10 major champions teeing it up – so there are significant world ranking points up for grabs. Sheshan International is a fine golf course and most of the players here this week have played it a lot and therefore know it well. It’s a good, solid test and I have to say I am really looking forward to it.
We had some other exciting news this past week as our program of #GameON autism golf clinics, which have been such a success in the US, was introduced in South Africa (pictured below). Glendower Golf Club was the host venue so our thanks to everyone there for their support. Thanks also to my old friend Gavan Levenson – a former winner on the European Tour and now a PGA Master Professional and highly respected golf coach – and his team for helping out on the day.
As I said, these days have been a big success in the US since we started the program last year and I’ve been fortunate enough to attend a couple of events, most recently at the Els for Autism Grand Finale in Vegas last month. It was wonderful seeing the amazing feedback from the kids and the smiles on their faces; also to speak to the parents and have them talk so enthusiastically. This is great for golf and great for kids on the spectrum to be able to be active and have fun. The team has created an excellent and adaptable curriculum and program, which allows us to have a real impact on kids’ lives in whatever city we take these #GameON Autism clinics to. I’ve no doubt they’ll also be a big success in South Africa, where we’ve got a passionate team of people working at the Els Centre for Autism.
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