Colin Byrne Caddie's RoleGolf would appear to be a victim of its own success in this the early junket season. The HSBC Matchplay event at Wentworth outside London last week is a testament to this. A limited field of 16 players who qualify through an order of merit run over the four majors of the year and a couple of other qualifying categories should ensure that the sponsors have the cream of world golf playing in their exclusive event.
The reality in the leafy environs of stockbroker belt Surrey was that there were very few of golf's perceived stars teeing it up on Thursday last. And I mean no disrespect to the players who eventually qualified to play due to the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh declining to make the relatively short trip across the Atlantic. Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Elkington and Kenny Ferrie don't conjure up the same enthusiasm to the golf fan's imagination. They are top-class golfers, just not in the league this historic tournament has provided over the recent decades.
There was £1 million on offer as the top prize, points gained counted for the world rankings, the European Order of Merit and the European Ryder Cup standings, and the consolation for losing in the first round was £60,000.
Obviously, a big bank is good at numbers, and they know how to give their guests a warm welcome. Beyond the basic financial details, HSBC bend over backwards to accommodate players, their families and caddies. The only other tournament that has pampered us like they did last week is at the Million Dollar event in Sun City at the end of the year.
On top of the flights provided for players, family and caddies, they have the option of staying in a house on the estate. There are very few "houses", as most of us would know them, on the Wentworth estate: mansion is more appropriate.
Not only do you get a "house" to yourself, you get a chef to cook for you as well. I was invited for dinner during the week to one such mansion, and the food served that night tasted of a Michelin-rated standard.
The pampering did not stop there. In the clubhouse we had the option to eat in a secluded room beside the locker-room or in the Ryder Cup room downstairs, where a full breakfast and lunch buffet was available each day. William, our waiter upstairs, could not do enough for us, and his warm, friendly and efficient service will be missed when the reality of a normal event hits us again.
For golf events around the world, the recent policy seems to be to try to attract players through pampering and the warmest of hospitality. It seems that no amount of money, whatever the currency, is a guarantee of luring the top players anymore. Which is a disappointment for the sponsors, but a great chance for lesser ranked golfers to seize their opportunity to play for the big prize funds on offer in world golf today.
Like most events there is a pro-am on Wednesday; it is the downside of professional golf that the top players must go through on the day before the tournament starts. It's interesting how many amateurs we play with who understand the distraction of playing with the "golfers like them" while they are preparing for an event, so most playing partners are courteous and get out of the way if they cannot help the team score.
At last week's event there is a system in place sponsored by HSBC to nurture and encourage young golfers called the "Wee Wonders". The little wonders who qualify get the chance to play the par three second hole at Wentworth with the professionals. When my player, Retief, arrived on the second tee, Leona Maguire from the Castle Hume Golf Club in Enniskillen was limbering up for her chance to swipe her fairway wood on to the green in front of the world's number five-ranked golfer. Leona had qualified in the under-10s Britain and Ireland qualifying event in St Andrews the previous week.
Her twin sister, Lisa, was with her, but just missed out on qualifying, so was just there as a spectator. Lisa plays off 10 and Leona off 14. Leona whacked her shot through the green, then confidently holed a 12-foot putt for par to save the team, and Retief remarked that she had a very impressive swing. So hopefully the wee wonders from Cavan will grow into smooth swingers in future years.
When Retief teed off at 7.36 on Thursday morning, the summer had yielded to the murky onset of autumn. It had been raining pretty heavily as Retief warmed up on the range beside his opponent, Kenneth Ferrie. As we headed down the first fairway the rain started to ease. By the time we got to the green it had almost stopped. Kenny had rolled his putt up to about two and a half feet of the hole, no "gimmie" distance. Retief had chipped to about 12 feet, which he needed to hole for par. I was holding the umbrella, as it was still drizzling.
As Kenny went to mark his ball, I asked Retief if he still wanted the umbrella. He replied to me "take it away", which Kenny, due to his proximity to his ball, thought Retief was referring to his ball and not the umbrella. To which Kenny replied "Ta, very much", and promptly put his ball in his pocket, probably a little miffed at Goosen's generosity.
Technically, Retief could have called for a ruling to explain the mis-understanding and have the ball replaced. Instead, he broke into a hearty chuckle, went on to miss his par putt and lost the hole. It was to be the last hole he lost to the amiable Ferry.
Three of the last four players in the matchplay, Goosen, Angel Cabrera and the winner, Michael Campbell, go on to Washington this week as members of the Rest of the World team to take their good form to the Americans in the Presidents Cup.
And it seems patriotism keeps this event from being another victim of golf's success.
