It’s out with the old and in with the new as golf expands to open the door to more fame and fortune for its pros, writes GARY LEMKE.
When Dean Burmester sent his drive down the 1st fairway at Randpark Golf Club he was acutely aware he was making history. The South African had officially launched the new DP World Tour, which has consigned the European Tour to the archives.
The European Tour had seen 43 South Africans win in the 49 years the Tour had been in existence. They date back to Gary Player’s victory at the 1972 PGA Championship – which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour. In fact, all Player’s four European Tour wins came at Majors.
So, technically, Hugh Baiocchi’s win at the 1973 Swiss Open was the first on the Tour on European soil by a South African. The last European Tour win recorded for the country therefore was Garrick Higgo at the Canary Islands Championship in May 2021.
Now, after a half century of the European Tour growing into the successful giant it was, that’s all over. The DP World Tour, they say, is going to be bigger and even better.
It’s a win too for South Africa, with more co-sanctioned events involving the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour.
The Joburg Open was the first tournament on the new World Tour, with South Africa being one of 27 countries the global Tour will visit in 2021-22. ‘What an honour to be able to hit that first tee shot, and what better place, from my perspective, than here in South Africa,’ Burmester said after getting the tournament under way.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence came charging out of the blocks to record a first-round 65, one shot clear of the Englishman Ashley Chesters. Not that Lawrence, another of this country’s rising young talents, aged only 24, would have cared that his main opposition at that stage was a golfer ranked 517 in the world.
Lawrence continued his fine form in the Friday second round with a matching 65, to sit four shots clear of countryman Zander Lombard and five ahead of Chesters and Shaun Norris at the halfway stage.
Then, not even Hollywood’s most cynical scriptwriters would have been able to write what would happen next. Reports of a new Covid variant, subsequently named Omicron, had been identified by South African scientists, and it sent the world into another meltdown. Although the variant was also located elsewhere, the fact it was discovered by scientists in South Africa saw the United Kingdom immediately put a travel ban on the country.
A total of 26 players withdrew from the Joburg Open on the Friday to get on to flights back to the UK. Organisers decided the tournament would become a 54-hole event. ‘Moving day’ was now going to become the final day.
That Saturday, though, the news from Black Friday extended into the weekend with dark clouds and a severe weather front bringing thunder, lightning and rain to Johannesburg.
A decision was made to call off the tournament and Lawrence was declared the first winner of a DP World Tour event after 36 holes. Which is why Saturday’s ‘moving day’ is a ridiculous concept. In golf, every day is a moving day with all 72 holes being equally important and in this instance it was Lawrence’s Thursday and Friday brilliance that brought him his first big event. His only previous professional success was at the 2019 Vodacom Origins at Stellenbosch.
‘It’s always been a goal to win on the European Tour, but I didn’t see it coming so quickly and you never think it will come out like this,’ he said. ‘But there has been strange weather the whole week and my mentality was just to finish the tournament. It wasn’t nice waiting because you hear a lot of talk about what might or might not happen.
‘But I’m just thankful for the way it turned out, it’s a life-changing moment and a lot of things are going to change in my schedule. It’s an unbelievable feeling.’
The South African now has a DP World Tour exemption until 2023 and moved to the top of the DP World Tour rankings with 75% of the points awarded to the field for a 36-hole event. The win also earned him automatic entry into the 150th Open Championship to be held at the famous Old Course at St Andrews in July.
‘To play your first Major on the Old Course is an unbelievable dream come true. I’m so excited. As a kid you always want to play at the Majors. Everybody wants to break Jack Nicklaus’ record and now it’s my first Major and an opportunity in that direction. I’m ecstatic.’
Lawrence can be forgiven for being caught up in the moment, but whatever the circumstances, he can add his name to the likes of 28-time winner Ernie Els, and other Major champions like Player, Retief Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman as winners on the European Tour.
As the new champion said, ‘life-changing’.
The European Tour was rebranded as the DP World Tour in a deal that will double the total prize money – to more than $200-million. This compared to $104-million in 2021 and $70-million in 2020. The Tour’s chief executive, Keith Pelley, said the title change better reflects the global nature of the Tour.
On the 2022 schedule, only 23 of the 47 events will be staged on European soil. ‘In many ways, it’s a misnomer,’ Pelley said of the European Tour title. ‘We are definitely a world Tour.’
Europe’s 2021 Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington led the chorus of approval: ‘It’s great to see the Tour boosting not only the prize money to $2-million for the lesser-stature Tour events but also strengthening and continuing to boost the prize purse for the bigger events. I also like the Tour’s idea to return to countries like Belgium and to play tournaments in Japan.’
The last winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which for the past two years has been cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, is England’s Tommy Fleetwood. ‘What a time to be a golfer in his twenties,’ the 30-year-old said at the announcement.
Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher signed off with exactly 600 European Tour starts, but the 47-year-old was another one looking ahead. ‘To come through a pandemic and to get such a positive boost with DP World investing in the DP World Tour is going to help the Challenge Tour, grassroots golf globally. To have PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan backing us up in the climate we’re in now, I think we are in a fantastic position in golf, especially the youngsters coming through. We have 47 tournaments, 23 in Europe, 24 worldwide, so it just shows you how we really are a worldwide Tour. I thought it was positive news for golf in a global way.’
World No 1 Jon Rahm echoed all the gushing sentiments. ‘You know, I just want to say thank you. As a European Tour member, and somebody who really cares about this Tour and the game of golf, having a great partner like DP World truly represent us and support us is major, right?’
And it’s not about the money, right?
Because, as former world No 1 Justin Thomas has consistently said: ‘I truly don’t think about money … it’s hard to explain. Obviously, I’m excited. It’s nice. Never have I said I am playing golf to win this money. I truly am playing because I want to win a lot of golf tournaments. I want to win Majors, and hopefully I’ll have a Hall of Fame-type career.
‘The money is just a bonus. I’m sure a lot of people don’t believe me, but I’ve never thought about the money.’
When making an emotional post-victory NGC address at Sun City in 2019, Fleetwood endorsed those sentiments. ‘I guess being a golfer in this modern era you have the chance at a young age to set your family up for life. But it’s not about the money because nothing compares to holding up that trophy. The money is great, and we are lucky and privileged to have the chance to be playing for that sum, but this tournament has so much history. Being one of the winners of it now, means so much to me,’ he said.
Try telling that to those pros working day in and day out trying to earn enough money to book a flight for their next event and afford moderate accommodation and a few budget meals, while paying their caddie. Money is at the heart of their very existence in the sport. However, it is true that winning and money go hand in hand. When you win enough you don’t have to worry about the cash, because that takes care of itself.
So, despite the media fluff surrounding the new DP World Tour growing the game, it is also about the money generated. That’s not a bad thing at all – but let’s not try to hide that fact. After all, how many golfers these days charge huge appearance fees to just tee it up at an event?
But, every professional golfer, at whatever level they are playing, will have welcomed the DP World Tour with open arms and you’ll even find amateurs will be encouraged to turn pro earlier than they might have. After all, even 36 holes in this new world for golf can be life-changing. Just ask Thriston Lawrence.
– This article first appeared in the January 2022 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine. Subscribe here!
