Woosnam makes an Open and shut case for Wales
IMAGIne what it must be like being Wales’s best ever golfer and seeing the Open now go to every part of the United Kingdom except Wales.
Ian Woosnam watched the return of the Open to royal Portrush with a feeling that it was a course he needed to put on his bucket list, mixed with frustration.
‘It did leave me thinking, “What about us?”’ admitted Woosnam. ‘Then you look at the way they’ve marketed the game in northern Ireland and contrast that to Wales.
‘ Is it any wonder that we’ve produced so few champions over the years? We seem to spend plenty of money on rugby, but what do we ever spend on golf?
‘If Wales wants to grow in stature, it really needs to do something.’
Wales can certainly draw up a list of golf courses to compare to those in northern Ireland. royal Porthcawl and royal St David’s in harlech deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Portrush and royal County Down.
But while northern Ireland is about to reap plenty of US tourist dollars the lack of investment and will by comparison means that Wales barely figures in the vacation plans of any American golfer.
It was interesting being at the press conference on Wednesday, when the r&A announced they were taking the Women’s Open to Porthcawl in 2021. Club captain rhys James sounded enthusiastic at the idea of moving heaven and earth to get the Open one day, only to be shot down by the r&A’s executive director of championships, Johnnie Cole-hamilton.
‘To be honest, I got the same message from the r& A chief executive, Martin Slumbers,’ said Woosnam.
‘They don’t think Porthcawl is big enough and, to be fair, that might be the case in its current state. But didn’t they build two new holes at Portrush to make it fit for purpose? Didn’t they find a way?
‘And if there’s simply no way of making Porthcawl work, why not find a piece of land and build a course that could hold the Open in 15, 20 years? Imagine the first, purpose-built Open venue — how good would that be?
‘I’d love to get involved in that. If the r&A dangled that carrot in front of people, you’d get enough business investors overnight.
‘I know enough people myself who would be interested. But it does need everyone pulling in the same direction, from the r&A to the Wales government.
‘The bottom line is that it can’t be right that Wales is the only place not part of the Open rota.’
Woosnam, heads to the Farmfoods British Par 3 Championship at nailcote hall today in reflective mood following the death of his close friend, Gordon Brand Jnr.
‘It might be time to hang the clubs up professionally and go and enjoy places I’ve never played, like Portrush, with a few mates,’ said the 61-year-old.