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TEE TIMES
DECEMBER 2015
Wentworth: the latest in a Great Chinese Takeaway? WENTWORTH, which was bought by the Beijing-based Reignwood Group just over a year ago, is to start charging £125,000 to join from 2017, compared to the current £15,000. Existing members are being told that they must also fork out £100,000, and annual subs are also to soar, from £8,000 to £16,000. Wentworth's purchase was the latest deal in what has been dubbed in some quarters as the 'Great Chinese Takeaway', as Beijing capital snaps up well-known British brands and landmarks.
New owners to charge £125,000 to join, with annual fees doubled
Ford came through Qualifying School last year, and this was his first season on the main tour. ‘I was very emotional afterwards. It is hard to stop it when you have been pushing it back for so long,’ he said. Billionaire Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang: His Beijing-based group, Reignwood, bought Wentworth for £135 million last year
Wentworth: Renowned as the home of European golf and the unofficial birthplace of the Ryder Cup
Famous as the home of European golf and the unofficial birthplace of the Ryder Cup, Wentworth has many celebrities among the well-heeled, including Sir Bruce Forsyth and Sir Michael Parkinson. Other celebrity members include Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton Du Beke and veteran comedian Jimmy Tarbuck. An insider told The Mail on Sunday that the club's Chinese bosses expect only 250 present members out of a total of 3,000 to remain after the price increases. A source said they will be replaced by 600 'ultra high net worth' individuals – those with assets of more than £20 million each. Sir Michael Parkinson, who has been a member with his wife Mary for more than
Left, Sir Michael Parkinson branded the decision as 'barmy'. Right, Peter Alliss, who said: ‘It's a jigsaw puzzle at the moment’
30 years, said: 'It's a cull and it saddens and angers me to see an iconic golf club treated in this way.’
'The members will be bitterly disappointed. Golf has suffered from accusations of elitism and snobbery and this is a very backward step.’ BBC golf commentator Peter Alliss said: ‘It's unheard of (the cost of the debenture plan), in this country anyway, and unheard of in the whole of Europe I would think, although years ago in the Far East and some clubs in the United States have had this sort of thing.
‘Whether it will work in Wentworth I really don't know. ‘The idea, I'm told, is the club wants to have a very good relationship with those who have houses on the estate, but a lot of them are from overseas, from Asia and Russia and other places. It's a jigsaw puzzle at the moment and I wonder how many pieces will fall into place.’
Golf Academy
‘I had to keep those thoughts at bay and focus on the single shot in front of me and that's what I'm most proud of."
Andy’s on a winning roll
Well-heeled
A spokesman for the Virginia Water-based club said it would be investing significantly to enhance and improve its three championship courses.
Ford had started the week 118th in the Race to Dubai, and says he had doubts about whether he would be able to remain on the Tour: ‘I was always in a good position but the thoughts build as the week goes on,’ he told BBC Radio Kent.
‘You have to accept you are nervous and the mind will wander. It was heightened even more as you know what it means. People asked me whether, on the 18th green, I knew what the scenario was and what I needed to do. It was the last hole of the year so there was no comeback.
It was being reported that unless existing Wentworth members fall in line with the scheme, they will be kicked out within a year as oligarchs and foreign millionaires move in.
The club on the Wentworth estate, in the heart of the Surrey stockbroker belt, has grand houses which are home to Middle Eastern royalty, international business tycoons, professional golfers and celebrities.
MATT Ford has held on to his European Tour card – and he’s quite emotional about it. The 37-year-old from Bearstead finished tied for seventh place at the Hong Kong Open to secure a top-110 finish in the Race to Dubai and his card for 2016.
More than 500 Chinese firms have invested in the UK in recent years, buying MG Rover, black cab makers Manganese Bronze, the Lloyds Building in London, and Weetabix
Chinese-Thai billionaire Dr Chanchai Ruayrungruang’s Reignwood group, bought Wentworth for £135 million last year from restaurant boss Richard Caring. The company pledged to keep the course's 'unique culture'.
Matt’s still on the card
The future base of the European Tour, which runs all professional golf tournaments in Europe from its headquarters at Wentworth estate, is unclear. Wentworth is also the venue for the prestigious annual BMW PGA Championship in May. Peter Alliss added: 'I don't know if they're bringing an Asian philosophy to Britain. I believe, rather old-fashionedly, if you have a wonderful restaurant with the best chef around, it's no good if you're only doing ten dinners a week.
'It's a magnificent club, but I don't know where the money's going to come from to pay all the staff. Who's going to use all the magnificent gym facilities? Y
ENGLAND’S Andy Sullivan failed to secure first place in his first 84 appearances on the European Tour. Now he can’t stop winning. Sullivan, 29, cruised to a nine-shot victory in the Portugal Masters to become the first three-time winner on the European Tour this season. Victory moved him into the top 50 in the world rankings and 15th on this season's European ladder. He went into the final round with a five-shot lead, and a closing five-under 66 showed a very clean pair of heels to the opposition at Vilamoura, finishing on 23 under. Compatriot Chris Wood, from Bristol, was second on 14 under after a 68, with Anthony Wall, Trevor Fisher and Eduardo de la Riva another shot back in joint third.
ou're not going to get many 75-year-olds leaping about in the gym.
Sullivan, from Nuneaton, also won the South African Open in January and the Joburg Open two months later.
'There are very few people who have £100,000 to piddle away on their pleasures.'
‘It's just absolutely incredible,’ he said. ‘To lead from day one right through the final day is nothing I've ever experienced before.’
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