Upon landing in Brisbane and barely having time to unpack, the players of the Ladies European Tour were met on Tuesday with the news of the cancellation of the first of three consecutive tournaments scheduled in Australia. It’s not the most pleasant or easy news to digest when you’ve travelled across the globe, spending more than a day on planes and in airports.
The reason for the suspension is more than justified, as a cyclone is approaching, putting the entire area of the eastern Australian coast on alert. In fact, water cuts are expected, and it’s likely there will be food shortages in the coming hours, as people are stockpiling. For this reason, the LET recommended that players leave Brisbane and head south to escape the weather threat.
Beyond the tale, and fortunately without anything particularly serious to regret, the situation has been a significant economic and logistical blow for the players, especially for those travelling from Europe and, specifically, from Spain, such as María Hernández, Marta Martín, Nuria Iturrioz, Ana Peláez, Luna Sobrón, or Blanca Fernández. Travelling to Australia is the most expensive journey, and if there’s no tournament, there’s no income. It’s as simple as that.
To understand the scale of the mess, here are some figures confirmed with some of the Spanish players in Australia. On average, golfers spend around 7,000 euros on this three-week trip to Australia. This includes all sorts of expenses: airfare, which far exceeds two thousand euros, baggage fees, visa, accommodation, car rental, petrol, registration fees, food, and some unexpected extras. Some manage to save on accommodation because Australia has a ‘housing’ programme for golfers that works wonderfully. Volunteer families offer their homes to golfers for free. Additionally, the LET has informed players that it will provide a cheque for 600 euros as compensation for the tournament cancellation. In no case does this money reach the total prize fund of 350,000 euros that the tournament had. It helps somewhat, but it’s not a solution.
Given this approximate figure of 7,000 euros as expenses for this three-week trip, golfers will need to finish roughly in the top 25 in the next two weeks if they want not just to earn some money but to cover costs. Remember that the Australian government also withholds almost 40 percent of the money earned as taxes. This is the added pressure many, who do not have a more comfortable financial position, will have to deal with in the upcoming two tournaments. Additionally, it’s the beginning of the season, so they haven’t been able to earn much prize money yet.
The concern now is that the second tournament next week is not guaranteed to take place. The cyclone’s path is not easy to decipher, and it could move south and also affect the second tournament. In that case, the blow would be even greater. To earn 7,000 euros, they would need to finish in the top 10 in the third week, something that, as everyone will understand, only a few could achieve.
Beyond the financial hole, there’s also a logistical one. The golfers have had to leave Brisbane in search of a safer place where they can at least train. There, the support from the LET and the Australian golf circuit has been extraordinary. They have been provided with ten different courses where they can train. The Spanish players have gone to the Magenta Shores Golf Course, one of the courses the LET visited last year. It’s been a gruelling nine-hour drive from Brisbane. It’s relatively close to Sydney, where the third tournament is played. They have already been able to train there today with the aim of maintaining a minimal preparation routine for what’s to come. On Monday, they will head to the Coffs Harbour Golf Course, where the second tournament is held, hoping to play. This course is halfway between Brisbane and Sydney.
The Australian tour has started off on the wrong foot, although in these cases, there’s nothing left but to cling to the wise Spanish saying: what starts badly, ends well. Hopefully.
