CONTINUING THE DEBATE ABOUT THE DEMISE OF ESTABLISHED TOURNAMENTS

FROM BRENDAN McKENNA

 

This debate is an interesting one and each of the comments submitted so far have valid points to them.

 

The most common gripes of competitors playing 36 hole competitions that I have encountered are pace of play and cost.

A typical 36 hole competition these days would cost £15 - £20 to play in. A typical competitor will pay for petrol, new golf balls, lunch in between rounds and a pint thereafter. It’s not a cheap day out, and it will last close to 10 hours.

 

I would personally like to see 36 hole competitions not reduce their fee, but provide more value for money. For example, providing a bottle of water/fruit on the tee and having a basic soup and sandwich lunch between rounds would save the travelling golfer a decent amount of money and most likely ensure he/she returned.

It would also speed up the turnaround time between rounds.

 

In addition, I would have to say that communication between organisers and players is, in many cases, poor.

Players who have played a competition should be lettered or emailed and advised of the competition date for next years event when the date is confirmed.  

Setting up a facebook page and posting regularly as the entry deadline draws closer is also key.

 

Finally, having a facility to pay up front, online via paypal or similar would be helpful. It would also mitigate the cost of entrants failing to turn up due to inclement weather/hangover and perhaps allow the organisers to charge less.

 

Brendan McKenna

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NORTH EAST ALLIANCE SCORES PUBLISHED TOMORROW

Wednesday's North-east Alliance results from Kemnay will be published on this website on Thursday afternoon.
Colin Farquharson is tied up at the Women's Home Internationals at Scotscraig and cannot spare the time to edit the scores until later.

GARY TOUGH WINS MIDLAND ALLIANCE AT FORFAR

FROM LEE SUTHERLAND

 

The Midland Golfers’ Alliance this week held the PowaKaddy (A. Duncan) team competition at Forfar Golf Club in Angus. Gary Tough Edzell +1, won the scratch prize with a level par score of 69. Their was a four way tie for the handicap prize with Garry Smith Scotscraig, 6, Bill Barclay Downfield, 4, Steve Blady Monifieth, 5 and Jim Irwin Muckhart, 8 all returning a net score of 68. In the team Competition Lee Sutherland P, Monifieth, Derrick Wilson Monifieth, 5 and George Cant Monifieth, 12 won the team competition with a score of 57. 69, G. Tough Edzell +1 70, B. Stewart Tulliallan, 1 71, A. Webster P, Edzell 72, J. Strachan Montrose, 2 B. Barclay Downfield, 4 T. McLevy Blairgowrie +1 J.Watt Edzell, 3 R. Ford Scotscraig, 1 R. McGuigan Monifieth, 2 73, R. Wallace P, PGA S. Blady Monifieth, 5 B. Crosbie Blairgowrie, 4 Leading Handicap Scores 68, G. Smith Scotscraig, 6 B. Barclay Downfield, 4 S. Blady Monifieth, 5 J. Irwin Muckhart, 8 69, H. Salmond Tulliallan, 6 B. Stewart Tulliallan, 1 J.Watt Edzell, 3 B. Crosbie Blairgowrie, 4 J. Strachan Montrose, 2 70, G. Tough Edzell +1 D. Hutchison Murrayshall, 7 R. McGuigan Monifieth, 2 Leading Team Scores 57, L. Sutherland P, Monifieth D. Wilson Monifieth, 5 G. Cant Monifieth, 12 60, G. Smith Scotscraig, 6 J. Ward Carnoustie, 12 D. Herd Scotscraig, 13 60 BIH J. Leddy Bathgate, 10 R. Lamont Bathgate, 10 D. Snodgrass AP, Crail Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchen Express Midland Golfer’s Alliance Championship in April at Monifieth Links G. Tough Edzell +1 J. Strachan Montrose, 2 B. Barclay Downfield, 4 T. McLevy Blairgowrie +1 R. Ford Scotscraig, 1 R. McGuigan Monifieth, 2 Qualifiers for the JTC Kitchen Express McQueen Shield at Monifieth Links in April G. Smith Scotscraig, 6 B. Barclay Downfield, 4 S. Blady Monifieth, 5 J. Irwin Muckhart, 8 Next Weeks Meetings Tuesday, 17th September St. Michaels 9.30 - 12.30 Mixed Foursomes Sponsored by Emmar Textiles Thursday, 19th September Pitlochry 8.30 - 12.30

Lee Sutherla

OLIVER FARR LEADS AT MONTROSE LINKS BY TWO SHOTS

FARR TWO AHEAD IN EAGLE ORCHID SCOTTISH MASTERS
Worcester golfer looking for first 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour win in bid for Challenge Tour card

Oliver Farr leads the Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters by two strokes from Steve Uzzell at Montrose Golf Links ahead of the final round of the penultimate 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event of the regular season.

The 25 year old shot a second-round 67 (-4) to lead on five under after 36 holes with Uzzell (Hornsea Golf Club) three under after rounds of 71 and 68 on the par-71 course.

Farr is currently 16^th on the Order of Merit, one of the highest-ranked players yet to win an event this year. With just this tournament and one at Moor Allerton in two weeks remaining before the Tour Championship, the Worcester Golf & Country Club man knows a victory would put him in a commanding position to finish in the season’s top five, and with it earn his 2014 Challenge Tour card.

“I have knocked on the door a couple of times but we will have to see how it goes tomorrow,” he said. “If I control what I can do and play well then that is all I can do. EuroPro is all about winning.

“I have played really well over the last couple of days. We had some wind troubles on the first day but I dealt with that well, although I have to admit I got the lucky side of the draw.

“I played some really good golf today for my second round. I went a bit more aggressive today, hit lots of drivers and it left me in some good places to make birdies.

“I will try and approach it the same way I did today and try and be a bit more aggressive. This course can hurt you but you can make some birdies and at the end of the day you have to make birdies to win golf tournaments.”

Daniel Gavins (De Vere Oulton Hall), James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City Golf Club) and James Maw (Abbeydale Golf Club) are tied for third on two under, three behind Farr.

A cut to the leading 50 players plus ties has now been made, with all golfers whose 36-hole score is six over par or better proceeding to play Thursday’s final round. When the cut is made only the 50 leading professionals are taken into consideration, and as one amateur has made the cut the golfers tied 51^st on six over are effectively tied 50^th for purposes of the cut and therefore will play the final round. Amateurs with a 36-hole score of six over or better will also play the final round.

Spectator entry to the course is free throughout the week and live scoring can be found at www.europrotour.com.

The final round will be filmed for a two-hour highlights programme to be broadcast four times on Sky Sports HD on Wednesday, September 25.

.

The full leaderboard can be found here: http://europro.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/europro13/event/europro1312/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

Nick Teale
Media Officer

EUROPEAN TOUR SCHOOL ROUND-UP FROM ROXBURGHE AND AUSTRIA

Eriksson and Cazaubon lead European Tour hopefuls

Sweden’s Philip Eriksson and Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubon hold the lead at The European Tour Qualifying School’s two First Stage venues in Scotland and Austria.

A fine second round of six under par 66 enabled Eriksson to leap into pole position at the Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course in Kelso, where the top 22 players (and ties) will progress to Stage Two.

The Swede did not make a single bogey as he picked up six birdies to surge through the field and establish a one stroke lead over first round leader Adam Wootton and his fellow Englishman Matthew Daley.

Former Walker Cup player Jamie Moul is tied for fourth place on four under, alongside the Scottish duo of Paul Ferrier and amateur James White.

Over at Golfclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf in Austria, where the leading 22 players (and ties) will qualify for Second Stage, Cazaubon fired a brilliant seven under par 65 to move to 12 under at the halfway point and three strokes clear of Russia’s Andrey Pavlov and the Italian Aron Zemmer.

 

Former Challenge Tour winner Anders Schmidt Hansen is a stroke further back on eight under.

 

For many players at both venues, Thursday’s third round will represent their last chance to stay at the Qualifying School, with those players finishing the round more than seven strokes behind the leader being eliminated from the competition that offers the ultimate prize of a place on The 2014 Race to Dubai.

 

Second Round Scores from Qualifying School First Stage Section A - The Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course: 

138 P Eriksson (Swe) 72 66;

139 M Daley (Eng) 69 70; A Wootton  (Eng) 68 71;

140 J Moul  (Eng) 71 69; P Ferrier (Sco) 69 71; J White (am) (Sco) 69 71;

141 Z Scotland  (Eng) 71 70;

142 A Cheese (Eng) 69 73; P O'Keeffe  (Irl) 72 70; G Wright  (Wal) 73 69;

143 S Ronold (Nor) 74 69; J Bell (Eng) 73 70; D Mooney (Nir) 72 71; Z Blair (am) (USA) 71 72; S Crichton (am) (Sco) 74 69;

144 C Kresge (USA) 75 69; M Clemens (Mex) 69 75; I Gregory (Eng) 73 71;

145 J Housby (Eng) 71 74; D Rawluk (Irl) 73 72; C Lutton (Sco) 73 72; G Robertson (am) (Sco) 75 70;

146 S O'Hara  (Sco) 72 74; B Fowles (Eng) 72 74; S Archibald (Eng) 72 74; B Melton (USA) 75 71; A Smith (Eng) 72 74; A Wrigley (Eng) 71 75;

147 J Barnes (Eng) 76 71; J Westwood (Eng) 74 73; R Phillips (Eng) 73 74; C Corbin (am) (Eng) 76 71; O Curry (am) (Eng) 75 72;

148 M Murphy  (Irl) 76 72; S Reed (USA) 75 73; J Gallacher (Sco) 73 75; P Cormack  (Sco) 77 71; C Trahan (Sco) 77 71; J Henry (Sco) 75 73; J Chevallier (Fra) 75 73;

149 O Franck (Swe) 78 71;

150 B Herbert (Eng) 77 73; T Higson (Sco) 77 73; C Eberl (USA) 77 73; R O'Neill (Eng) 76 74; T Hunt (Wal) 72 78; P McLean (Sco) 77 73; B Gielow (USA) 76 74; M Staunton (Irl) 78 72; D Seymour (Eng) 77 73;

151 A Smith (Eng) 74 77;

152 D Spalding (Eng) 72 80; K Nicol (Sco) 77 75; J Byrne  (Sco) 77 75;

153 J Hendry (Sco) 78 75;

154 I Griffiths (Wal) 80 74; D Sugrue (Irl) 78 76; G Murphy (Irl) 81 73; R Crowe (Eng) 79 75; B Askew (USA) 75 79;

155 S McAllister (Sco) 77 78; C Sutherland (Sco) 81 74; C Cole (Wal) 77 78; T Innes Ker (Sco) 85 70; G Duncan (Sco) 77 78;

156 B McDonough (USA) 77 79; J McGhee (Sco) 77 79; B St John (Sco) 80 76; A Hogan (Irl) 77 79; A Palmer (Eng) 78 78;

157 M Downes (Eng) 79 78;

158 M Ramsdale (Eng) 80 78;

159 A McCabe (Eng) 86 73;

 

 

Complete Second Round Scored from Qualifying School First Stage Section A - Golfclub Schloss Ebreichsdorf:

132 R Cazaubon (Mex) 67 65;

135 A Pavlov (Rus) 68 67; A Zemmer (Ita) 69 66;

136 A Hansen  (Den) 68 68;

137 M Schneider (Ger) 70 67; K Samooja (Fin) 68 69; J Billing (Swe) 69 68;

138 U Weinhandl (Aut) 68 70; G Schultes (Ger) 65 73; R Han (Chn) 72 66; O Lieser (Cze) 72 66; A Engell  (Nor) 68 70; L Astl (Aut) 67 71;

139 D Lokke (Den) 70 69; J Scrivener (Aus) 70 69; C Dennis (USA) 71 68; F Praegant (Aut) 70 69;

140 C Lange  (Den) 71 69; M Decott-Lafon (am) (Fra) 69 71;

141 J Lupprian (Ger) 72 69; F Gustavsson (Swe) 69 72; S Matus  (Cze) 71 70; S Wiedergrün (Ger) 73 68; M Wolf (am) (Ger) 70 71; R Goger (am) (Aut) 70 71; S Pitoni (am) (Ita) 73 68;

142 J Shepherd  (Eng) 71 71; L Nemecz (Aut) 73 69; M Veijalainen (Fin) 69 73; K Eriksson (Swe) 74 68; J Quiros (Esp) 75 67; D Mogensen (Den) 72 70;

143 B Neumayer (Aut) 72 71; J Kim (Ita) 70 73; H Lipsanen (Fin) 67 76; O Zetterwall (Swe) 70 73; M Novy  (Cze) 70 73;

144 B Reiter (Aut) 75 69; K Svanum  (Nor) 72 72; J Maurer  (Aut) 72 72; A Pazzeschi (Ita) 71 73;

145 F Lagarto (Esp) 75 70; K Ichihara (Jpn) 72 73; W Rieder  (Aut) 76 69; M Hansen (Den) 71 74; M Prihoda (Cze) 71 74; R Gruber (Aut) 72 73; J Agren (Swe) 74 71;

146 G Kotnik (Aut) 72 74; M Amtkjaer (Den) 75 71; S Cronin (Eng) 75 71; J White (Eng) 74 72; H Amin  (Aut) 74 72; W Schauman  (Swe) 73 73; S Jeppesen  (Swe) 70 76;

147 N Viuff (Den) 74 73; S Fernandez (Arg) 75 72; M Schachner (USA) 74 73; M Cantero Balbas (Esp) 76 71; S Whiffin (Eng) 74 73; S Kannler (Ger) 74 73; A Funk (Can) 75 72;

148 J Steiner (Aut) 71 77; M Azcue (Mex) 73 75; C Schwierz  (Ger) 77 71; N Wimmer (am) (Aut) 71 77;

149 C Cannon (Eng) 76 73; N Thommen (Sui) 75 74; J Orozco (Esp) 76 73; A Altuntas (am) (Tur) 73 76; S Wittmann (am) (Aut) 75 74;

150 L Tupa (Cze) 76 74; P Nic (Cze) 76 74;

151 F Pogatschnigg (Aut) 74 77; T Mou (USA) 74 77; T Toivo (Fin) 80 71;

152 R Hahn (Hun) 79 73; H Yamac (Tur) 79 73; M Mayrhauser  (Aut) 80 72; A Leitmannstetter  (Ger) 73 79; N Lombardi (Ita) 79 73;

154 M Eliasson (Swe) 78 76; K Varli (am) (Tur) 78 76; P Oswald (am) (Aut) 74 80;

155 M Carroll (USA) 80 75;

156 F Mruzek (Cze) 83 73; D Clarkson (Eng) 80 76;

157 A Lange (Ger) 77 80;

158 D Suchan (am) (Cze) 83 75;

160 A Werner (Den) 83 77;

163 F Kök (am) (Tur) 85 78;

165 N Engel (Den) 82 83;

177 G Steel (Eng) 89 88;

 

ENDS

 

KIRKINTILLOCH SHIELD NEW DATE IS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

E MAIL FROM RICHARD LAW

 

You ran a piece for us earlier in the year advertising our 36 hole scratch competition, unfortunately due to the weather this was postponed, we have set a new date for Sunday 22nd September, would it be possible to run the feature again and hopefully help gain some additional entries?

Kirkintilloch town council decided to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the town being granted the liberty of a Burgh.  In 1964 various celebrations took place including sporting events.  A golf tournament was instigated called the Kirkintilloch Shield.  The local golf clubs of Kirkintilloch and Hayston already held open competitions so it was decided to hold the event at Lenzie. 

The three local clubs have jointly decided to try and return the competition to its former glory. It will be played in rotation by the clubs the first being held at Lenzie GC.

The Kirkintilloch Shield has a rich history with past winners including past Scottish Amateur Champions Allan Brodie, David Carrick and Graham Rankin. Past winners also include legendary Scottish Golfer Barclay Howard.

It is with this in mind, and a prize fund totalling more than £1100, we are trying to restore this once staple of the Scottish Golfing calendar to its former glory. 

With the original competition postponed due to the weather, the 36 hole scratch competition will be run again on Sunday 22nd September. Entry forms are available from www.lenziegolfclub.co.uk or by phoning 0141-777-7748.

 

Richard Law

NEIL FENWICK WINS CARNEGIE INVITATIONAL BY FOUR SHOTS

Neil Fenwick, starting the final round with a five-stroke lead, ended up winning the Carnegie Invitational first prize of £5,600 by four strokes at the Carnegie Links course, Skibo Castle in
the north of Scotland today.
The Dunbar tour pro followed up his outstanding seven under par first round of 64 with a more pedestrian two-over 73 for a total of five-under 137.
Runner-up was Stephen Gray with scores of 69 and 72 for 141. He received a cheque for £4,570.
Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf) was third on 143 (74-69) to earn £4,000
Fenwick never caught fire as he had done on Monday. A double bogey 6 at the 12th and another 6 at the 18th took the shine off birdies at the third, fourth, fifth and 13th - but he did have two birdie 2s to add to the five he had in the first round.
Gray's winning chance was torpedoed with mid-round bogeys at the sixth, ninth, 11th and 12th.
Fox had six birdies but had a double bogey 6 at the 13th and also shed single strokes at two short holes, the sixth and 15th.
Paul Lawrie finished fourth with a pair of 72s for 144. He ran up a triple bogey 7 at the 17th.
Stephen Gray led the "FFF" team of Greg Fairburn (9), Bill Florence (18) and Alan Grant (6) to victor in the pro-am with a net score of 26 under par 258.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
137 Neil Fenwick (Dunbar) 64 73 (£5,600).
141 Stephen Gray (Hayston) 69 72 (£4,570).
143 Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf) 74 69 (£4,570)
144 Paul Lawrie (Carnegie Club) 72 72 (£3,500)
146 Greig Hutcheon (Banchory) 77 69 (£3,000)
147 Alan Tait (Marriott Dalmahoy) 74 73, Ronan Rafferty (Roxburghe) 74 73, Scott Henderson (Kings Links) 76 71, David Thomson (Carnegie Club) 76 71  (£2,660 each).
148 Fraser Cromarty (Castle Stuart) 75 73 (£2,450)
149 Gordon Law (Uphall) 74 75 (£2,400)
151 Mark King (Kingsfield) 76 75 (£2,350)
152 Kenny Hutton (Downfield) 79 73 (£2,300)
153 Jamie Wales (Carnegie Club) 76 77, Jason McCreadie (Buchanan Castle) 78 75 (£2,250 each)
155 Craig Ronald (Carluke) 81 74 (£2,150).
159 David Reasoner (Carnegie Club) 82 77 (£2,100)
160 Russell Smith (Renaissance Club)  77 83 (£2,050)
172 Jack Bailey (Carnegie Club) 86 86 (£2,000

CONTINUING THE DEBATE ABOUT THE DEMISE OF OPEN TOURNAMENTS

E-mail from D Neal Stewart

Colin

 

I am not sure how valid my comments are given I am not one of the elite and therefore have never had the opportunity to enter any of the Order of Merit events.  I do however play Open events and I have so far this year played 12 Opens at away courses and 9 Medals at my home club.

 

While I understand John Laurie's comments about value for money, particularly in relation to the Scottish Amateur with the possibility of being knocked out in the first round, in general the other events I believe are tremendous value for money and I would argue are underpriced.  If I go along as a casual visitor to Gailes at a weekend I would have to pay £100 per round.  If you enter the Edward Trophy (36 holes) the entry fee is £30 while the Tennant Cup (72 holes) the entry fee is £60 including lunch not forgetting the opportunity to win a voucher.  I wish that I could get to play Gailes for that price.  Other tournaments are at a lesser discount but at a discount all the same, e.g. Battle Trophy entry fee £40 for a 72 hole tournament while the weekend green fee is £75 per round.

 

I also believe that there is a growing feeling among ordinary members of many golf clubs that host such events that they cannot necessarily see the value in giving up their course for 2 days at a weekend for a 72 hole event (with courtesies for practice rounds in the week leading up to the event) or for 5 days for the Scottish Amateur during the main playing season where the member is paying say £600 - £800 for their membership and watching competitors ignore all the requirements with which the ordinary club member would be expected to comply, such as no trolleys on tees, keep trolleys outside white lines to protect the green aprons etc.  In fact, did Gailes not reduce the Edward from 72 to 36 holes a couple of years ago due in part to them hosting 2 x 72 hole events which the members were beginning to feel was unfair to their general membership?

 

In terms of the handicap system if players are not entering because they are concerned that their handicaps may go up then it appears that they are playing off the wrong handicap anyway.  In general over a season all golfers handicaps will fluctuate both up and down.  Where you are playing extremely poorly your handicap will rise but only by 0.1 and thus it will take some time before this would impact to the extent that your handicap falls over the point at which you are playing from the next higher handicap.  In my case I have gone up from playing handicap 7 to playing handicap 8, back down to 7 and I am now at the point where a bad round will take me up to playing handicap 8 again.  This seems to me to be correct as it truly reflects my playing performance over the season (which it is fair to say has not been good).

 

I note Ann Smart's comment about Ladies no longer having to submit a certain number of away scores (something that used to be required for a man to have a category 1 handicap in the old system also) and this also seems to me to be a reflection on the ambition of those players at that level.  If you want to prove you truly deserve a handicap at that level and you want to truly test yourself then you need to play away.  It is back to the old truism about being a big fish in a small pond as you are if you only submit scores from your own course or a small fish in a bigger pond if you also test yourself by playing away from home.

 

I also agree that slow play is a deterrent not only in elite events but also in events open to the general body of handicap golfers.

 

 

 

D Neal Stewart

 

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MAX ORRIN TURNS PRO, SIGNS LONG-TERM CONTRACT

NEWS RELEASE

London, 10th September 2013 – English golfer Max Orrin has today announced that he has signed a long term, exclusive representation contract with 4SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT, the leading Swiss sports management agency.

Orrin, from North Foreland Golf Club in Kent, has turned professional this week following a remarkable career as an amateur. The 19 year old has been a pivotal member of the England elite squads since 2009, and has accumulated a number of high profile titles to his name during this time.

In 2012 Max became the first English golfer to win the esteemed Thunderbird Invitational held in Arizona. Combined with wins at the Kent Amateur Championship and Jaques Leglise Trophy, as well as second place finishes in the Darwin Salver, the Peter McEvoy Trophy and The Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters, Orrin ended the 2012 season at the top of the England Titleist & Footjoy Boys Order Of Merit. He also currently acts as an ambassador of The Sir Henry Cooper Trust. 

This winning streak continued into 2013 when he achieved number 1 status on the World Junior Golf Rankings before posting first place results at both the South East of England Links Championship as well as the Lagonda Trophy. He reached the semi final match play rounds of both the British Amateur as well as the English Amateur earlier in the year and was a crucial member of the six man squad who took home the trophy at the European Teams Challenge held in Denmark having fought off 15 other nations in order to claim the title. Most recently, Max travelled to The Country Club, Brookline in order to compete in the US Amateur Championship where he posted a top ten finish on the stroke play leader board before heading into the match play rounds.

Max was selected as a member of the 10 man Walker Cup team who sought to defend their title at the National Golf Links of America. Following the conclusion of this event, and positioned as top of the 2013 Titleist &Footjoy Order of Merit, Max decided to turn professional and intends to play in a number of tournaments across Europe before heading to European Tour Qualifying School later in the year.

On signing with 4SPORTS, Max commented: 'Having made the decision to turn professional, I am confident in my feeling that 4sports are the perfect team to have working alongside me in the next stages of my career. I also want to thank the England Golf Union who have supported me over the past 4 years.'

Marcus Day, Managing Director of the 4sports Golf Division added: 'Max has already achieved a string of fantastic results in his career. We are really looking forward to working with him in order to help him achieve his next set of goals.'

Sarah Taylor
Client Executive

ISPS HANDA BECOME TITLE SPONSOR OF WORLD CUP OF GOLF 2013

 

       

 

 

For Immediate Release

 

ISPS HANDA to become title sponsor of World Cup of Golf 2013

The International Federation of PGA Tours has announced International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS) as the new title sponsor for the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf, to be played at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club from November 21-24, 2013.

 

ISPS has previously shown its commitment to professional golf through its title sponsorship of the Wales Open on The European Tour and the PGA Seniors Championship on the European Seniors Tour. 

 

The ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf will showcase Victoria to approximately 800 million homes in more than 200 countries and territories as the best players in the world from more than 30 nations will represent their countries at Royal Melbourne.

 

“ISPS is delighted to become title sponsor of this exciting major global event,” said ISPS Founder and Chairman, Dr. Haruhisa Handa.

 

“At ISPS, we believe in the ‘power of sport’, its unique ability to create hope, to breakdown educational and cultural barriers, and to inspire people in a way that very little else does. For this reason, ISPS has a long history of supporting golf globally with a specific commitment to raising the profile of blind and disabled golf.

 

“Our ultimate mission is for golf to become a Paralympic sport. There is a great synergy with the World Cup of Golf embracing the same format and eligibility when golf returns to the Olympic programme in Rio 2016.”

 

Dr. Handa established the International Blind Golf Association (IBGA) in 1998