Starting list at first Sandbelt Classic in Melbourne takes on new look with borders set to open

Newly minted US PGA Tour member Lucas Herbert is set to join what could be a strong contingent of returning Australian players to tee it up in an ambitious new Melbourne tournament that has created a buzz that has reached golfing great Sir Nick Faldo.

With quarantine rules set to ease and no Australian Open for a second straight year, the inaugural Sandbelt Classic could be a beneficiary with invitations sent to every Aussie in the world’s top 300 and one major champ already locked in.

The brainchild of 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who is playing, and former pro and renowned course designer Mike Clayton, the tournament will be played across sandbelt gems Royal Melbourne, Kingston Heath, Peninsula Kingswood and Yarra Yarra in December.

A back-to-basics event, which didn’t seek a TV deal or major sponsor and set a prize purse of just $50,000, the aim was to expose roughly 30 professionals and 30 amateurs, a mix of men and women, to tournament play after two years of Covid-interruptions and no Australian Opens.

But the buzz surprised even Clayton, who received a message from Herbert, this year’s Irish Open winner who is playing on the US PGA Tour, asking if he could play.

The start list could yet be filled with a host of other overseas-based Aussie stars, with Clayton and Ogilvy’s idea even catching the attention of three-time Masters winner Faldo, a regular Australian visitor in his prime.

Clayton said the idea for the event was not necessarily to get the big names involved but more to offer tournament play for local professionals locked out of playing opportunities because of Covid.

The feedback has caught him by surprise.

 

“The reaction was much more than we thought it would be. I mean Nick Faldo heard about it. People noticed it,” Clayton said.

“It’s going back to the basics of golf ... have some good players play on good courses and people come and watch it. They are amazing courses too, and people wanted to know it if was on TV just so they could watch the golf courses.

“We’re sending some invitations out to Australians in the top 300 in the world, see if they want to play and go from there.

Herbert, who secured his first US PGA Tour card earlier his year, is hoping to finish 2021 inside the world’s top 50 and secure a ticket to the Masters at Augusta.

But the Victorian is now coming home for Christmas with quarantine set to be scrapped. and took the time to reach out to Clayton to express his interest in playing in the inaugural Sandbelt Classic.

With the Australian PGA still set to be played at Royal Queensland from January 13-16, there remain strong reasons for Australian golfers to return home.

But officials have essentially put a line through the likes of Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, with quarantine-free international arrivals not likely in Queensland until January.