Tennis star Kafelnikov hopes to ace Russian Open
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2005 Cadillac Russian Open | General | 10 Aug 2005
While the USPGA Championship at Baltusrol is being fought out amongst most of the world leading players, a former world number one and winner of the French and Australian Opens as recently as 1999, will be teeing it up in the Cadillac Russian Open on the outskirts of Moscow.
Sound a little strange? Well rest easy. We are not talking about a David Duval or Ian Baker Finch type who might have slipped from the giddy heights once reached in world golf, or a player who might have forgotten to put his entry in for the final major of the year, but rather Yevgeny Kafelnikov the outstanding now retired Russian tennis professional.
Like Australian tennis player Scott Draper has done in recent years, Kafelnikov is taking the opportunity of an invite granted to him by the Russian Golf Association to test himself in this situation and to lustre to a field. Mind you, as now Vice President of the Russian Golf Association, they would not have taken a lot of convincing.
The event is made up of European Tour players unable to make the USPGA field and those from the European Challenge Tour and is co-sanctioned by both the European and Challenge Tour.
In a field where Markus Brier and Jamie Spence, with the greatest respect to them, are the likely favourites who can blame Cadillac for trying to generate as much as they can out of the appearance of one of Russia’s sporting heroes. The presence of Kafelnikov will no doubt create intrigue and attract publicity like no other player in this field could do.
Draper has gone on to gain his Australasian Tour card and has performed with some respectability in several Von Nida Tour events. It is unknown if Kafelnikov will reach that level but an event that would have otherwise generated little interest now has publicity worldwide and I’m sure Cadillac feel their investment is money well spent.
Kafelnikov won close to $US24 million in his tennis career and has since turned his hand to professional poker, winning the Russian Championship last year. Given that skill, it is a fair bet that his facial expressions will provide no clue as to how he is doing on the course. The 31-year-old Kafelnikov plays off a handicap of six.
Kafelnikov tees it up with Ivo Giner and Mark Pilkington in rounds one and two.
