The victorious Lake Nona side
“Can’t wait for the Tavistock Cup? No, me either. Worst. Golf Tournament. Ever.”
Not my words, the tweeted droll of Lawrence Donegan.
“Why is it the worst golf tournament ever?” snapped participant Ian Poulter, taking immediate exception. “Explain yourself, ‘cause that’s bollocks.”
“It’s obnoxiously exclusive,” explained Donegan, as requested. “It’s ostentatious and over-hyped.”
This from a man who writes for the Guardian.
“Ah, did someone not get invited?” asked Poulter.
“If I wanted a ticket, I could have got one!” replied Donegan, descending the argument quickly into a battle of my-dad’s-bigger-than-your-dad playground wit.
But the English Ryder Cup star made one very valid point: “How about the $8million that has been donated to charity from the Tavistock Cup?” And you can’t argue with charity.
Suddenly, my Twitter feed was overloading with people getting their dig in at the Tavistock Cup. Before the first ball had left the tee at Isleworth Golf & Country Club, I’d read the words ‘nauseating’, ‘meaningless’, ‘insularity’ and, well, ‘nauseating’ a couple more times.
“Why is it even televised?” asked one golf fan, akin to those who spend their evenings whining to the Daily Mail about an Eastenders storyline.
Just. Turn. Over.
Elsewhere, Golf Digest’s Ron Sirak makes his feelings known. Last year, Sirak famously attended the country club competition before leaving without even getting past the parking lot.
Why? Because he refused to wear the polo shirt given to him by the organisers.
“In the spirit of journalism, I cannot wear your corporate uniform while I am covering your event,” argued Sirak. “I am here as a journalist, not as a billboard.”
Now, I’m not going to sit here and slate one of the finest golf writers of our time, and I admire his principles. But he was there to do a job and should have done it.
At a previous job, I was asked to go and interview a not-so-famous footballer. Before the meeting, I had an email requesting I wore a suit, despite it being a one-on-one in a dingy conference room of a lower-league football team.
Finding this amusing, I mentioned it my editor. “So wear a suit then,” he replied. “I don’t care if he asks you to wear a f***ing Santa Claus outfit. I want the story, so do it.” Despite missing my point just a little bit, he had a point. Sirak should have worn the shirt. But he saw a way out and he grabbed it with both hands, via an acid tongue.
So how do I feel about the Tavistock Cup? Honestly, I can give or take it. It’s played on a Monday and Tuesday, so hardly squeezed in to replace a regular Tour event. And call me a bit of a maverick, but as a golf fan I enjoy watching the best golfers playing exhibition stuff on some of the world’s finest courses.
If you’re still reading, Oliver Wilson’s inspired seven-under 65 saw him take the Payne Stewart Salver Award while his team, Lake Nona, won the World Country Club Championship at a massive 43-under.
Yes, it might be ostentatious and yes, it might be elitist. But newsflash guys, golf at every level has been all these things for years.
Wilson, a nine-time European Tour runner-up but never a winner, will have gained a whole new world of confidence from this victory. Not to mention the millions of lives that will change for the better from the millions donated.
Try telling them the Tavistock Cup is a waste of time.
