Mimosa unfit for RP Open, says Gopez

Unless officials of the Mimosa Golf Club rethink its priorities and focus on the big task at hand, the 88th DHL-Philippine Open Golf Championship will be heading for a major disaster when it is staged Feb. 26-29.

No less than the chairman of the RP Open organizing committee voiced this concern when Benny Gopez rapped the Mimosa management for its apparent lack of interest during the launching of the event over the weekend at the Holiday Inn inside the sprawling Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Field, Pampanga.

"We want to make this one of the best Philippine Opens ever. I can guarantee that but I hope the Mimosa management will be with us in this endeavor," said Gopez, also the sec-gen of the organizing National Golf Association of the Phils.

He was referring to the measures and preparations being made by the club’s officials in sprucing up the composite Acacia and Lakeview courses. With four weeks to go before the big event, the venue, a short par-70 course with no virtual challenge to offer the pros, remains far from being a championship layout.

Past RP Open venues needed several months to plan, set up and prepare for the staging of the country’s premier golf championship which not only features the best local shotmakers but those from other countries as well.

Although the Mimosa management has agreed to close the composite courses on Feb. 12 and turn over its supervision to the NGAP, Gopez said that it wouldn’t be enough as he insisted that the NGAP takes charge on a much earlier date.

"Feb. 12 would be too late. We want to take over the supervision much earlier and we will show you how to run a Philippine Open. We will show you how to run a (golf) course," said Gopez.

What hinders the preparation is the Mimosa management’s plain desire to keep the cash register ringing since the early closure of the layout would affect thousands of Korean guests, the main source of revenue of the government-owned facility, who play on the courses everyday.

"But it’s up to you (management) whether you want to make more money or keep your dignity," stressed Gopez.

The management’s apparent lack of concern — to the RP Open’s title sponsor DHL and to its backers, including Mitsubishi Motors, was evident during the media golf tournament which preceded the launching. The sponsors, the NGAP officials and media participants were made to wait for more than one hour to tee-off to give way to the Korean guests, resulting in a traffic of flights on every hole.

In fact, the NGAP had to cancel the media tourney after nine holes and after more than three hours of slow play to proceed to the launching of the event, which stakes a total pot prize of $150,000 and which is headed by defending champion Rick Gibson and former RP Open champions Frankie Miñoza and Gerald Rosales.