World shrinks as the costs for amateurs soar
World Amateur Team Championships to become a one-course event as hosts struggle financially
IT’S an unforgettable experience, but it’s also an expensive one and from 2024 the World Amateur Team Championship will undergo a transformation with the number of nations competing set to be drastically reduced. The delegates who attended the Biennial Meeting of the International Golf Federation (IGF) at Carton House, Co. Kildare, agreed to reduce the event from a two-course competition to a onecourse affair in order to save the hosts a small fortune and make the event more competitive.
The enormous costs involved in staging the biennial Eisenhower and Espirito Santo Trophies, the growing number of nations entering and the disparity in playing ability between the leading countries and those new to the game will require complete re-think from the IGF membership over the next few years.
This year’s World Amateur Team Championships at Carton House cost in the region of €700,000 to stage, while the 2016 event in Mexico cost approximately $1.5 million.
With no fewer than 57 nations playing in the Espirito Santo Trophy and 72 teeing it up in the men’s event – Liechtenstein and Lithuania made their first appearances in the Eisenhower Trophy, while Lebanon was the debutant in the women’s Espirito Santo Trophy – two courses are needed to accommodate all the teams.
It’s a huge burden for the host country to bear and, from 2024, the number of nations taking part will be reduced considerably, requiring the IGF membership to come up with new entry criteria and a viable pathway into the event for the smaller nations.
There is a two-tier system in European golf but how the IGF decides who gets to play the WATC remains to be seen. Past performances and the world rankings of team members are one way. But there is also scope for the issuing of wildcards.
Whatever is decided, it’s a headscratcher, but as Antony Scanlon, Executive Director of the IGF, explained last week, the challenge is to find a balance between maintaining the strength of the field without losing the diversity that makes it unique.
While Denmark won the Eisenhower Trophy with a 39-under-par total and the top 50 nations were just eight over par or better, the other 22 nations posted scores between 16 over and 177 over par.
“This will bring a bit of polish and shine to the trophy and improve the strength of the field,” Scanlon said of the planned revamp, adding that maintaining the diversity of the event was a key promise made to the delegates.
The problem is finding nations capable of meeting the considerable costs involved in finding a suitable venue.
“It’s very expensive to host it,” he said. “And it’s hard to find two courses close to each other that can shut down for three weeks.
“So from 2024 onwards it will be down to one course, but we will be canvassing the membership for ideas on a pathway for the smaller federations to get there somehow.”
Even attracting bids to host the event is becoming a challenge.
Ireland was the only nation willing to host this year, while 2020 hosts Hong Kong were also the lone bidders.
As for the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship, which will be held in Paris, the French bid was made at the 11th hour.
Ireland is very much a first world country when it comes to golf, and that fact was not lost on the players, who know they are unlikely to play in the events a second time.
“They’ll remember this for the rest of their lives,” the GUI’s National Coach Neil Manchip said after Ireland’s Robin Dawson, Conor Purcell and John Murphy tied for tenth behind Denmark last Saturday.
“This particular tournament, very few players play it more than once because the cycle it comes in; if they’ve made this team, they tend to turn pro before the next one comes around.”
Ireland couldn’t quite match their bronze medal performances in both the men’s and women’s events in Mexico two years ago, with the women’s team finishing tied for 11th in the Espirito Santo Trophy.
Nevertheless, speaking for the men, Manchip feels Ireland more than holds its own at this level, given the successes that have been achieved over the past few years.
“You’ve both seen so many different performance markers from Walker Cup to winning international tournaments to winning the bronze medal last time, to guys turning pro and doing really well,” he said. “It’s difficult to keep all parts of the game going well at all
times, but I think Ireland does really well in golfing terms.
“You see the whole spectrum this week. You see guys who are probably paying their own way to be here to play for their countries. You see guys who come from countries with really big budgets and who play all over the world.”
It’s been suggested that given the popularity of golf here, there’s no reason why Ireland can’t become the All Blacks of golf, and Manchip certainly believes the interest is there.
“A few of the other coaches have remarked to me how big the crowds have been and how good an Eisenhower it’s been because you do go to other countries and there’s nobody watching apart from family members or support staff or a couple of interested people,” he said.