TOURNAMENT PREVIEW | THE VENETIAN MACAU OPEN
AFP
Ernie Els will be making his second appearance at this month’s Venetian Macau Open, a week after he makes his Hong Kong Open debut
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In the
Mood
for
Macau
In the week following the Hong Kong Open, Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jiménez will take the short journey across the Pearl River Delta to play in the ever-popular Venetian Macau Open.
T
he Macau Open, which will be played between 23-26 October, has long been a favoured stop on the Asian Tour, and for good reason. The Macau Golf and Country Club, and the risk/reward nature of its tricky layout, is a fine venue, while the myriad off-course attractions of the former Portuguese colony – from glitzy casinos, outstanding restaurants and vibrant nightlife – are a draw themselves for the 140plus field of young professionals, particularly at the beginning and end of tournament week. But these days there is an extra incentive. Since the Venetian Macao took over the role of title sponsor in 2012 – and incidentally becoming in the process the first title sponsor in the tournament's 15-year history – the prize purse has grown from a relatively paltry US$300,000 to an impressive US$900,000, making it one of the richest single-sanctioned Asian Tour events on the playing calendar. For years golf industry insiders have long seen Macau as a tournament with tremendous potential. And while US$900,000 is still a world away from the mega millions that are on offer at the continent's richest events in Shanghai – the BMW Masters and the WGCHKGOLFER.COM
HSBC Champions, which will be in the immediate weeks after Macau – the Venetian's input is to be applauded. As we have seen with both the Hong Kong and Singapore Opens, garnering golf tournament sponsorship is far from straightforward – even in Asia, which has been far less afflicted by the affects of the Global Financial Crisis than either Europe or the United States. The future it seems is bright for the Macau Open, and for those of us who want to see high-quality professional golf, this is great news. More money generally – but not always – equates to stronger fields, and this month's event will likely boast arguably the best collection of players in Macau Open history. The biggest news is that four-time major champion Ernie Els is back – indeed, he is likely to become a regular fixture having signed a sponsorship deal with the Venetian Macao Resort – but we can expect to also see the cream of Asian golf – the likes of Thongchai Jaidee, 2012 champion Gaganjeet Bhullar, China's Liang Wen-chong and runaway Order of Merit leader David Lipsky – to tee it up at scenic, cliff-top course. The other major news? Miguel Angel Jiménez is joining Els in the helicopter over from the Hong Kong Open to tee it up in Macau for the very first time … HK GOLFER・OCT 2014
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ERNIE ELS Q&A
PAST WINNERS
Can you talk about your experience at the Venetian Macau Open last year?
2013
Scott Hend
AUS
2012
Gaganjeet Bhullar
IND
2011
Chan Yih-shin
TPE
2010
Not Played
2009
Thaworn Wiratchant
THA
2008
David Gleeson
AUS
2007
Lu Wen-teh
TPE
2006
Kane Webber
AUS
2005
Wang Ter-chang
TPE
2004
Jason Knutzon
USA
2003
Colin Montgomerie
SCO
2002
Zhang Lian-wei
CHN
2001
Zhang Lian-wei
CHN
2000
Simon Dyson
ENG
1999
Lee Westwood
ENG
1998
Satoshi Oide
JPN
We had a great time. We flew in quite late because we had a tournament in Las Vegas, but I played the Pro-Am there and had a great time at the event. I think it’s an old-style golf course that is in very good shape and the greens got quite fast over the weekend. I played with Scott Hend in the last few rounds, he beat me squarely and fairly, I ended up third in the end, but I really had a good time. The fans, the people were wonderful. We had a few wonderful dinners at the Venetian Macao Resort. I had some good steak there, couple of good bottles of red. We just had a wonderful time. I think the whole field of golfers had a great time. I didn’t do too much gambling but I was at the pool at the resort. I was actually quite blown away by the scale of the resort and the rooms are all en-suite. I’ve been to a lot of places but The Venetian really blew me away, so I really wanted to come back. We struck a deal with them, so you will be seeing me in the next couple of years playing at the event. I am really excited about it. Your deal with the Venetian – what initiatives are you going to be working on with them? Well, it’s mainly to promote the resort to the world. And really to work with the golf tournament and with IMG to promote the Venetian Macau Open to the world, to do as much as I can. I am an Asian Tour Ambassador also, so it makes a lot of sense to play in Asia every year and try to promote the Tour. I think it is a wonderful company, so we will be doing a lot of work in this one [2014 event] with the Venetian Macao to promote the resort to worldwide audience. Joining you in the field in Macau will be the EurAsia Cup captains, Miguel Angel Jiménez and Thongchai Jaidee, which makes this arguably the strongest Macau Open field of all time … Well, at least they are close to my age so we have a lot of experience. I have known Thongchai for a very long time, over 20 years. I have known Miguel for an even longer time, so they are very good friends of mine. We have played all around the world and they are both great champions. Miguel Angel is a legend on the European Tour, he has won so many events – he has won the Hong Kong Open four times! He is a very popular man in the region, and he brings a lot to the tournament. He is a very interesting guy, he loves his life, cigars and red wine. I think for the event, Miguel is the perfect guy to bring and Thongchai, with his Asian Tour roots, is another great attraction. I think the tournament has done really well getting these kinds of players, and I know they will play well because they are good competitors, they want to win. I think they will be a great force for the tournament.
Since the Venetian Macao took over the role of title sponsor in 2012 the prize purse has grown from a relatively paltry US$300,000 to an impressive US$900,000. 2013 winner Scott Hend of Australia
Jiménez has been is tremendous form over the past 12 months, breaking the record of being the oldest winner on the European Tour and playing really well at the EurAsia Cup. What do you think is his secret to success?
AFP
It’s just his love for the game, he does everything well; he has got a great passion in the game. He is quite relaxed about his lifestyle and so on. He just got married again so he deserves a great time playing golf. He does not put a lot of pressure on himself and he enjoys himself, so I think he gets the best out of the game that way.
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