Two well-known Australian professionals, Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Clayton, have banded together to set up their own tournament, filling the void in Australia left by the recent cancellation of both the men’s and women’s Australian Opens.
The Sandbelt Invitational will be held just before Christmas, from Dec. 20-23 this year, and will be played across four of the best sandbelt courses in Melbourne: Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Yarra Yarra and Peninsula Kingswood.
It will feature 30 men and women professionals and 30 men and women amateurs.
The prize money is not large – perhaps a couple of hundred thousand dollars – but Clayton is at pains to point out that this is not a regular professional tournament, it is just as much about the amateurs. And, besides, if it builds an irresistible momentum in coming years, the corporate support will surely follow.
“We want to stage a small tournament and give these kids a chance at playing alongside some really good, seasoned pros under tournament conditions over 72 holes – on the sandbelt,” Clayton told GGP. “A lot of the best young amateurs in Australia have hardly played a tournament in the past two years because of COVID(-19) – this will give them a chance to get back in the competitive groove.
“So, it is not a tournament reliant on who is playing or how much money is in the purse. Rather it’s a tournament played on four amazing courses with players happy to be playing in front of crowds appreciative of good, competitive golf.”
The proposal is an extension of what Ogilvy and Clayton have been doing with what they call “The Game,” a series of one-day 18-hole events around Victoria which provides promising young Australian players with mini-tournament opportunities during COVID-19.
But it is the quality of the venues – three of the four courses are ranked in Australia’s top 10 – which gives this rather quirky idea a definite gravitas.
The immediate response to the Sandbelt Invitational has been unwaveringly positive – from the industry, players and fans.
Among those to express their support on Twitter were Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood, fellow Ryder Cupper Nicolas Colsaerts and emerging Australian pro, Elvis Smylie. Colsaerts wrote: “What a treat this will be … undeniably one of the best collection of golf courses worldwide.”
Chief executive of Golf Australia, James Sutherland, welcomed the initiative and said the Sandbelt Invitational, while not a GA-sanctioned event, was a great addition to the Australian golfing calendar.
“One of our principal concerns is the development of elite young players through our high-performance pathways and programs,” Sutherland told GGP. “And opportunities such as this one, which will give the best amateurs and young professionals exposure to 72-hole tournament conditions, align closely with what we’re trying to achieve.”
Clayton said he understood why Golf Australia had to cancel the Australian Open – the 2020 tournament also was scrapped, largely because of Australia’s strict quarantine rules for visiting athletes – and the only reason he and Ogilvy were able to get their event off the ground was because it had far fewer logistical issues than an established, full-field tournament.
“We’re not comparing apples with apples with this,” Clayton said. “We don’t have to worry about sponsors and TV like Golf Australia does in hosting the Australian Open – we don’t have any of those responsibilities. We are putting on a small tournament for 60 players.”
Scottish golf writer Alistair Tait devoted his Wednesday column to the new tournament, praising the idea with a tongue-in-cheek critique.
“Someone needs to have a word with Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Clayton. They’re surely missing the point about what professional golf is all about,” Tait wrote, with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Imagine staging a golf tournament on golf courses picked because they’re great layouts. Haven’t these guys learned anything from a combined 63 years in the professional game?
“Don’t they know the quality of the course often has nothing to do with professional golf? Don’t they know it’s all about squeezing every single dollar out of the tournament and to hell with the golf course, especially when owners of said course are willing to pay huge amounts of money to acquire the tournament?”
The plan is to stage the first round at Royal Melbourne’s West course, head to Kingswood-Peninsula for Day 2, Yarra Yarra for Day 3 then play the final round at Kingston Heath.
Entry will be free for spectators who will be allowed to watch the action from a respectful distance while walking the fairways. There will be no gallery ropes, as such. Only the first round at Royal Melbourne will be played in front of members only; the rest will be open to the public.
It is all part of the plan to bring the game back to the people and make it as accessible as possible for both novice players and rusted-on golf fans.
For the tongue-in-cheek Tait, the package was enticing: “Free entry? Surely not! I’ve been to some golf tournaments over some courses where organisers should have paid people to turn up!
“Methinks Clayton and Ogilvy need to lie down in a darkened room and do a wee bit of reflecting. Showcasing great, classic golf courses and no thought of appearance fees or gate submissions? What. On. Earth?”
Clayton sees the event as of a piece with the game’s history in Australia.
“Geoff started his foundation with the simple aim of older players mentoring and playing with the younger ones … ,” he said in an article published on the Golf Australia website. “It put the best men and women together in a competitive environment for a whole lot of players who usually would have been travelling the world honing their games.
“It’s the traditional way Australia has developed players going all the way back to Norman Von Nida helping a young Peter Thomson on his way in Britain. Thomson in turn advised generations of players including Graham Marsh, Stewart Ginn and Ian Baker-Finch.”
Ogilvy and Clayton, winners of multiple pro tournaments in Australasia, Europe and the US (including, in Ogilvy’s case, the 2006 US Open), have developed strong reputations as golf course designers as their playing careers have wound down.
They can now add the title ‘tournament director’ to their CVs, their germ of an idea several months ago taking on a life of its own and this week delivering them – and Australian golf – the Sandbelt Invitational.
Top: Geoff Ogilvy during the 2020 New Zealand Golf Open
E-Mail Charles