Because he is worth it

SINGAPORE — World No 1 golfer Jordan Spieth may be the hot favourite to claim the winner’s trophy and cheque at the US$1 million (S$1.43 million) SMBC Singapore Open, but the 22-year-old can still expect a huge payout regardless of his result on Sunday.

The two-time Major winner is one of the hottest properties in men’s golf, and is reportedly set to pocket an appearance fee of US$1.2 million for competing at the Singapore Open. While that amount constitutes a significant part of the tournament budget, Bob Tan, president of the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) — which owns the rights to the Open — believes it is money well spent.

“If we didn’t bring in Jordan Spieth, it wouldn’t have created this sort of buzz,” said the 63-year-old on the sidelines of a cocktail reception at the Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa on Wednesday. “He is the reigning world No 1 and we’ve never had a current world No 1 at this event. Everybody has seen him win the Masters and US Open, and he’s definitely the man to watch.”

At yesterday morning’s first round at Sentosa Golf Club, a crowd of about 500 fans followed Spieth though the Serapong Course, following his every move on the greens.

Tan is also hopeful the tournament will be able to attract some of the sport’s biggest names for future editions. They include Abu Dhabi Championship winner Rickie Fowler, Australia’s world No 2 Jason Day, and fan favourite Adam Scott.

Tan believes that a strong player roster will help boost the profile and interest in the tournament — co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour — which makes a return in 2016 after a three-year hiatus. Once regarded as Asia’s Major, the annual event had previously boasted prize money of US$6 million before title sponsor Barclays ended its partnership in 2012.

Added Tan: “The Singapore Open’s global profile is very high ... this is a good start and hopefully the sponsors can see the value in this event and continue to invest in it.

“I don’t think prize money is the necessary driver of interest, it’s who the players are. In time to come, the prize money may go up, but more importantly is to get the right players here. It’s also to give our local golfers the opportunity to find out what it’s like playing with the world’s best.”

With the Singapore Open currently the only marquee event on its calendar, Tan is also hopeful the proposed merger of the Asian Tour and European Tour can bring more professional events here and, in turn, benefit local golfers. Both organisations announced last week that talks on the planned union — which stalled after the resignation of Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr last month — would resume after the appointment of board chairman Jimmy Masrin.

“It’s better to have a strong Tour working together with serious partners (sponsors) to make the event rich, and provide opportunities for local professionals to have more tournaments,” he said. “They don’t necessarily have to be global tournaments, but enough professional events for our golfers to improve their skills and make money.

“There are a lot of advantages, but it is important to continue to develop the local circuit. If they merge and look at rankings, the people below will have no opportunity to progress. There can be top tours for the very best, but they also need a feeder tour for other players.”