Tour status brings golfing world to our shore

GOLFERS across Victoria should be celebrating today’s announcement that the men’s Vic Open has been afforded European Tour status.

The European Tour is the leading tour in the world behind the USPGA and features some of the sport’s biggest names.

It is a credit to the dedication of Simon Brookhouse and his team at Golf Victoria for landing this coup for the Geelong region, as they have worked tirelessly to ensure the event continues to grow every year.

The increased prize money ($1.5 million), combined with the fact that the Vic Open will be played in the week before the Perth Super 6s, also makes it more likely that we will see a big name player arrive here in 2019.

Golfers such as Sergio Gar- cia, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Thomas Pieters and Henrick Stenson are just some of the players who feature in the top 50 on the current Race to Dubai rankings.

While not all of the tour’s brightest stars will make their way to Thirteenth Beach next year, hosting an event with European tour status can have far-reaching benefits.

Imagine a young golfer having the opportunity to witness a former Masters winner such as Danny Willett up close on the first tee, or standing behind Ian Poulter as he addresses the ball on the fairway.

The beauty of the Vic Open is that it is an event for the fans, where they can walk the course with players and see how they approach different situations.

In the past they have been able to follow female champions such, Georgia Hall, Mel Reid and Minjee Lee, which is an experience few overseas would ever get.

Now, in addition to the abundance of female golfers from overseas that routinely turn up to compete on the two courses at Thirteenth Beach, they can look forward to seeing a Lee Westwood or Louis Oosthuizen in action.

This should not be taken for granted.

From a tourism perspective the global coverage this event is set to receive will be phenomenal, and the flow-on effect of more fans attending will be felt across Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. But from a pure golf standpoint, this is massive in its own right, and golfers should rejoice in the fact that in six months they will get to see a host of stars right on their doorstep.