Draper has edge on fellow Australasian Tour qualifiers

BY Bruce Young | Australasian PGA Tour | 2004 Australasian PGA Tour Q-School - Final Stage | General | 18 Dec 2004

As somebody who has had a little bit of experience in this specific issue, I believe there is every reason to expect that Scott Draper will get starts at Australasian Tour events in the early part of 2005 despite the fact that he has finished only 12th at the Australasian Tour’s just completed Tour School.

While those outside the top five at the end of the 72 holes will struggle to get starts in next season’s co-sanctioned events including the European Tour (Heineken Classic and the New Zealand Open) and the Nationwide Tour (Jacob’s Creek and New Zealand PGA events), Draper provides an edge in terms of his marketability for tournament organisers.

Fourteen months ago I was part of the organising committee for the Queensland PGA Championship, a Von Nida Tour event on the Gold Coast of Queensland, when a decision was made to invite the Davis Cup tennis player Draper as a sponsors invite to play the event. Draper had played only one professional event prior to that and the interest he generated, as a sportsman successful in one sporting discipline taking on another, was surprising. We all felt that his involvement would create interest, after all that is why he was afforded the invitation in the first place, but it was the level of that interest that took us by surprise.

As the Media Officer for the event that year I fielded countless phone calls from various media outlets not only throughout Australia but also internationally as even his media friends at the ATP were keen to find out just how he was doing. Draper played his part beautifully never once turning down an interview from television, radio or print.

He missed the cut in 2003, but this year he was invited again to the Toyota Queensland PGA and for the first time in a professional event he made the cut and in doing so headed off many seasoned professionals. At a time when tournament organisers are looking for an edge or angle in gaining exposure and coverage for their events, it would not surprise this writer if we see Draper teeing it up in some of the more significant early season events on the Australasian Tour. The interest will not last forever, but it would surprise if tournament organisers and Draper did not take full advantage while the story is hot news.

It will make quite a story for the organisers of the Heineken Classic for example to have a tournament entrant playing their event just a week after the Australian Tennis Open in which it is understood he has a start via a protected ranking.