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Tiger Woods - Source: Reuters -
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Tiger Woods may not be playing but organisers expect he'll boost the Australian Open anyway.
Golf Australia's tournament director Trevor Herden believes the "buzz" created by world No.1 Woods' appearance at the Australian Masters in Melbourne last week will have a spin-off for the Open at the NSW course from December 3-6.
He pointed to the vastly increased coverage golf had been receiving in the media as a factor renewing interest in the sport and likely to draw more spectators and viewers.
"I think certainly the media have grasped it - golf's in the paper, it's on the tele, and Tiger's doing this and Norman's doing that, all the top Australians are coming up here and it's a buzz and it's great for golf," Herden said.
While they missed out on Woods early on and had Greg Norman drop out following shoulder surgery, Open organisers have assembled an attractive field with its own publicity grabber in John Daly joined by popular former world No.1 Fred Couples and almost all of the leading Australians.
Herden said the late deal to securing 1992 Masters champion Couples for the tournament was a key boost.
"I think it's significant," he said.
"A guy who is a major winner is always good. It's never a bad thing to have major winners in your championship.
"To also get a guy with style, charisma and who is a true gentleman for the game is just a bonus."
The tournament will be the first time the coastal NSW course has hosted an Open, and Herden believes the organisers have made a great choice for promoting Australian golf, comparing the highly-rated links at the entrance to Botany Bay to California's iconic Pebble Beach course.
"It is a magnificent setting. One of the most panoramic courses in the world really," he said.
"Certainly it's a great test, yes we do get some breeze here but that's the way it is, no different to Pebble Beach and these other places in the world where you play by the sea.
"It's quite good I think to have an Open that is by the sea in Australia.
"It'll be challenging. It'll be a mixture, there'll be some tough holes and some quite birdie-able holes."
