KEY POINTS:
New Zealand Golf's beleaguered Open Championship has received a further battering, with a leading golf writer describing it as having the "air of a seen-better-days Spanish resort in the off-season".
John Huggan, New Zealand Golf magazine's European correspondent, ventured from his Scottish base to this year's Australian and
New Zealand Opens, and came to very differing conclusions about their respective futures.
"While there was real optimism wafting around Royal Sydney, at Gulf Harbour there seemed to be only doubt and confusion," he wrote in the latest issue of the magazine.
Huggan said the contrast between the two was stark.
"Where the Australian Open is led by a forward-looking executive chairman positively bursting with ideas, its Kiwi counterpart is relatively rudderless, forced into hiring short-term, stop-gap leaders, whose sole aim is to cut financial corners."
The result was one event which felt like a proper tournament, and the other which "had the air of a seen-better-days Spanish resort in the off-season", Huggan said.
This was despite the fact that New Zealand had its own Greg Norman in Michael Campbell, "a man around whom the New Zealand Open should be constructed for the next 10 years".
The future of the NZ Open is under review after this year's event was beset by problems - from long delays before sponsorship support was confirmed to date changes and continuing concerns about financial stability.
After this year's 89th Open finished, NZ Golf chairman Phil Hassall and chief executive Larry Graham said they did not expect a decision on the championship's future until early next year. In the meantime, tournament prizemoney, timing, venue, status and financial viability are all issues which remain up in the air.
Graham said the 2006 Open would post a deficit but he gave no indication whether it would be in the vicinity of the $459,000 loss incurred in 2005, when the championship enjoyed co-sanctioned status with the European Tour for the first time.
Huggan said New Zealand needed to find a man of similar calibre to new Australian Open executive chairman Paul McNamee. A former Australian tennis No 1 and doubles winner at Wimbledon.
McNamee, who promoted this year's Open as a "celebration of Australian golfers", is adamant co-sanctioning is part of the event's future. But whether it is with the European or Asian Tours, or as a World Golf Championship, is yet to be decided.
"Given his success elsewhere, it can only be a matter of time before McNamee finds the best spot for his already growing event," Huggan said.
"When he does, the New Zealand Open must take heed of just how he went about it.
"If that happens, Down Under's historic national championships will both be 'up top' where they assuredly belong."
- NZPA
