On Friday at The Valley we have teamed up with the PGA TOUR to bring you a night of golf experiences.
From one huge sporting event at The Valley in October to another, next week will see many in the Victorian racing industry swap the lush surrounds of the racetrack for the pristine fairways of the golf course.
The PGA Tour announced late last year that the 59th edition of the world-renowned World Cup of Golf tournament would return to Melbourne, with The Metropolitan Golf Club playing host to 28 two-person teams representing their respective countries on November 21-25.
As one of five events co-sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours, the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf is a truly global and historic event, which has been played 58 times since 1953 in 25 countries, and is the only event that sees the world’s best come together and compete for their countries, outside of the Olympics.
The PGA TOUR also announced that the 2019 Presidents Cup will be held on December 9-15, 2019, when it returns to the prestigious Royal Melbourne Golf Club. The return to Victoria will mark the third time in the biennial event’s 25-year history.
For many in racing, punters and participants alike, golf is a passion that gets the competitive juices flowing, much like riding home a winner at the track. For someone like Caulfield Cup winning jockey Dwayne Dunn, it’s a release from the day-to-day pressures that come with riding at the elite level, but don’t for a second think that doesn’t mean it isn’t competitive.
Playing off a handicap of 13 and often found wandering the fairways of Kingston Heath, Dunn loves nothing more than getting his fellow jocks out for a friendly game.
“Damien Oliver is pretty competitive, Glynn Schofield is a very good golfer and Hugh Bowman obviously is exceptionally good at it as well – he gets to ride Winx and is also good at golf, so he has got a pretty good lifestyle,” says Dunn with a wry smile.
“A few of the boys love to have a friendly bet when we play – it’s always a good rivalry.
“Golf is often a way for us to get away from the competitiveness on the racetrack, but we are competitive all the time, so it’s putting another challenge to ourselves instead of competing against others.”
Dunn was one of the lucky recipients of last year’s Drummond Golf / Callaway Ride of the Night awards, when he took home a brand new set of Callaway golf clubs for his ride on Ceylon in the Ascend Sales Trophies Handicap on March 2.
While Dunn will be competing in at The Valley throughout the Ladbrokes Friday Night Lights Season, he will happily be a spectator at the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf event at The Metropolitan Golf Club next week.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Dunn says.
“It’s such a great chance to see the world’s best golfers in our backyard and I look forward to being one of the thousands of spectators taking in all the action.”
For more information on the ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf tournament, visit ticketmaster.com.au.