2010 ANZ Ladies Masters
BY: CHRISTINE RETSCHLAG
For almost 25 years, the ANZ Ladies Masters has been a family affair.
At the age of two, when he picked up his first golf club, Ben Tuohy was still learning the difference between the bogeyman and a bogey golfer.
These days, the 33 year old tees off from scratch…and hasn’t seen the bogeyman in years.
For the uninitiated, a bogey golfer is defined as a person who shoots 1 over on each hole. For instance, if the hole is a par 4, a bogey golfer would receive a 5 on it, and for the total round would shoot a score of exactly 90.
(For the record, the bogeyman is a legendary ghostlike monster often believed in by children).
The story starts around 1975 when Ben’s father and former pro golfer Bob Tuohy, now 67, injured his back on a Japanese golfing tour.
Not content to rest on his laurels, the following year Bob started running golf tournaments which led to his involvement in the ANZ Ladies Masters of which he is now chairman.
Ben is the tournament director, Bob’s wife Sue (a keen golfer with a handicap of 4) is the company financial director, Ben’s wife Jane works part time securing media coverage of the event, and Ben’s sister Peppa is the receptionist.
“We have a saying in our family that the old man finds the money, I spent it and mum pays for it,” Ben says.
“It is a passion of ours, it is not just something to make money out of.
“I think it’s that whole adage of building something from nothing and putting on a world class event and you think ‘we did a good job’.”
And judging by the figures, a ‘good job’ is a bit of an understatement.
Golf’s golden girls including Karrie Webb, Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies are regularly drawn to the $600,000 prize purse event which is broadcast to 150 million households worldwide and attracts a crowd of 30,000.
Supported by Queensland Events, the tournament itself plays a huge role in the Gold Coast tourism tale.
“The last survey I saw said it brought $8 million into the economy,” Ben says.
“The Asian audience is growing and there is an expanded field of players invited from Asia every year – especially in Japan and Korea.
“We are really trying to focus on Asia.”
Ben remains adamant that apart from natural strength differences – a good female player can hit the ball 280 yards (256 metres) compared to a good male player at 330 yards (301 metres) – there are no physical differences been men and women golf games.
“The women are just beautiful and strong. I’m in the female sports business and I love it,” he says.
“I think females have to work harder and they realise there aren’t the dollars there.
“They are tremendous. They are always giving extra lessons whereas sometimes some of the guys don’t treat the sponsors the way they should be treated.
“In our audience we have about 60 percent males and the old ego gets a bit crushed when the women hit it 50 metres past their best shot on the first hole.”
He says a good golfer needs concentration, self belief and one-on-one time to master the art.
And he should know. Apart from coming from such good golfing stock, his grandmother was a repeat Adelaide State Title holder, Ben was also an Adelaide State Amateur Title holder.
“You’ve got to be a bit of a loner every now and again. If you grow up around sport and sports people it rubs off. I’ve seen the best players up close and learned a lot of things. Success breeds success,” he says.
“It is a tough tame. It is the toughest sport on earth. You can never perfect it. Even Tiger Woods can’t perfect it.
“That’s why it’s such a fascinating game to be in.”
At the end of the day, the ANZ Ladies Masters is a celebration of women’s golf, Ben says.
“There are only two tournaments in this country that give the opportunity to see these top class athlete compared to around 10 for men,” he says.
“It is quite sexy to be honest. Everyone is starting to wear more glamorous outfits, they are looking good and dressing well.
“The latest crop that are coming through are hitting the ball a lot further than ever before.”
And when they’re on the Gold Coast, what do these leading ladies do at the end of the tournament?
Play putt putt. Of course.
www.queenslandevents.com.au www.tagolf.com.au
