Later date for Dutch Open reduces field quality
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2003 Dutch Open | Preview | 08 Oct 2003
In a land that played a considerable role in the birth of the game of golf it is perhaps not surprising that the Dutch Open is one of the oldest national opens in the game.
First played in 1912 and, apart from the war years, has been played ever since. The event gets a slightly later time slot this year as in recent times it has normally been played in July/ August and the rescheduling has not done the event any favours in terms of the field it has attracted.
The leading players will be the likes of Miguel Angel Jiminez, Brian Davis, Robert Karlsson, Paul McGinley and Andrew Coltart.
The Hilversumche Golf Club in the radio city of Hilversum, about an hour’s drive from Amsterdam, is the venue for the event. The course first staged the tournament in 1923 and is one of many fine venues in the Netherlands although the best courses in the land tend to lie on the coastal strip. The greens are a Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix.
Not a strong line up of Australasians numerically either with just Brett Rumford, Brad Kennedy, Stephen Scahill and Terry Price, after a rushed trip back from his Gold Coast home, in the field.
Prize money of one million euros with 166,000 euros ($A300,000) going to the winner.
