Alvin Sallay
The good news for golf fans is that Swiss banking giants UBS will be around in 2009 as backers of the Hong Kong Open. The not so good news is that this year's 50th edition will not see the likes of Tigers Woods turning out at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling. That's the official word.
November's milestone, which organisers insist is not the 50th birthday but an edition - the tournament was established in 1959 and if you count it like your age, then the fabulous 50 falls in 2009 - will be a big bash, they promise. But it will be a big bash without the biggest player in the world.
'Tiger Woods won't be coming. He is not available,' says Martin Capstick of Parallel Media Group, the promoters of the tournament. He is not available because his schedule is penciled in years ahead by his agents.
If Hong Kong had been keen in securing him, then they should have been talking to him a year, or two years ago.
We have asked on countless occasions when Hong Kong fans would get the chance to see Tiger Woods in action at Fanling. This has been greeted with a mix of derision - 'don't you know he costs in the region of US$3 million' - and condescension - 'we can always make room for him'. No one was willing to grasp the nettle seriously.
Oliver Bertschinger, head sponsorship honcho for UBS in the region, believes it is a thorny issue best handled in a collective manner. He has the Musketeers' spirit - All for One and One for All. All, in this context includes the sponsors (UBS), the owners of the tournament (the Hong Kong Golf Association), the club where it has always been held (Hong Kong Golf Club), and the city itself (the government). Of course, the One is Tiger himself.
'UBS is just one part of a bigger group,' says Bertschinger. 'We need a collective approach, because after all this is Hong Kong's tournament. This is the oldest professional sporting event in Hong Kong and everyone should be involved.' .
We can't find fault with that. All the above parties have a vested interest in seeing that the Hong Kong Open continues to flourish as it looks ahead to the next 50 years. It would be foolish to hope the sponsors would go it alone and try to secure the world's best golfer to play in Hong Kong. Especially at times like this when the deep pockets of Europe's biggest investment bank have been emptied by the home-loans crisis in the US.
The Hong Kong Golf Association is not a rich body. Only last week they were mopping their brows when UBS announced they would extend their four-year deal by an extra year. Iain Valentine, the chief executive, was relieved the tournament won't have to go looking for a title sponsor in these troubled times. Asked about the one-year extension, he said: 'We are just happy they extended it.'
The Hong Kong Golf Club is not only one of the oldest clubs in Hong Kong, it has an influential coterie of members. But you can't expect them to send the hat around to get Tiger here. They are not a charitable institution after all. But what they can do is use their influence to try to convince the government, which is the only body capable of dishing out the money to catch the Tiger.
It is perhaps time for the government-funded Major Sports and Events Committee (of the Sports Commission) to come up with the goods. For too long, this body has basked in the glow of some of the leading sporting events in this town. Established as a vehicle to promote major events, the MSEC has just climbed on the bandwagon of already established events, and taken some credit for it.
It is time for them to provide major backing for a project like getting Tiger to Hong Kong, rather than the measly HK$6 million spread over three years which they have been doling out to some events in the past. The really big events like the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens don't even bother to ask for this money.
Instead of wasting time with the MSEC, the government should set up a sports and leisure body with the financial clout to get major sporting figures to town and run big sporting events. We once again fall back to the example of Singapore or Dubai, two city-states similar to Hong Kong, but with quite a different mentality to sports.
In Singapore, the government's backing has paved the way for Formula One racing. The Dubai government's approach to sports is manifold. It is building a city dedicated to sports. World bodies are thinking of moving house to Dubai - the International Cricket Council has already done so. They don't only look at home - Dubai World, the government's flag bearer in global investments last month bought the Turnberry golf course, venue of the British Open in 2009, for #55 million.
Sport is a sound investment. The people running Dubai and Singapore know it. Tiger Woods has played in Dubai. Wouldn't Hong Kong also benefit if Tiger was to turn up for the first time on our doorsteps?
Next year, when the Hong Kong Open celebrates its '50th birthday', let's hope it is a party to remember. Let plan to get Tiger now.
