Sohu Sports News - On April 21st, Beijing time, the BMW European Championship on the European Tour naturally attracted the most attention among all the golf tours taking place this week. As the flagship event of the European Tour, the European Championship with a total prize money of 4.5 million euros has attracted countless world-class stars to participate. Among all these people, one person is the most nervous, and that is South African star Ernie Els.
The venue for the European Championship - the West Course at Wentworth - has always been criticized, especially the greens of this old club, which many famous players including Harrington have commented as "unfair". Therefore, throughout the entire winter, Ernie Els stayed in London. His primary task was to supervise the renovation work of the West Course at Wentworth, and Els hoped that it would receive more positive feedback from the players.
Since 1984, the BMW European Championship has been held at the West Course at Wentworth. Now, this old club has finally decided to yield and accept renovations by current famous players. However, many critics who are accustomed to tradition believe that some of the renovations at Wentworth violate its natural form and are wrong. Especially, Els dug out several new bunkers on the course and set up a small lake in front of the 18th green. Critics worry that Els' renovation may result in too many bunkers on the West Course at Wentworth, even hiding the greens behind densely packed bunkers, which is not conducive to attacking the pin positions.
Regarding this, Els said: "I am very nervous. I now feel like sitting on pins and needles. This renovation project may be recognized by everyone or may not be supported. If they don't like it, I need to carefully listen to their opinions." Therefore, Els will spend this week with great anxiety, eagerly awaiting the feedback from the 149 professional players. After all, since Harry Colt built Wentworth in 1927, Els is the first person to make changes.
"At the end of a day's play, you will see that the course tests the players' skills, and the course is fair to them. We'll wait and see what happens at the end of the week," Els actually had little confidence about whether the renovation work would be successful, "Obviously, I can't satisfy everyone, so I will seek opinions everywhere. But I hope the course gets the players' recognition. This is what I desire most."
Richard Caring, the boss of Wentworth, played a decisive role in this matter. It was his insistence that led to the design collaboration with Els. Although Wentworth is an old club with nearly a hundred years of historical style, the much-criticized greens were no longer suitable for modern professional golf competitions, especially for three-time major champion Harrington. For this reason, Harrington had repeatedly refused to participate in the European Championship. In the past two years, he never stepped foot inside the gates of Wentworth.
Therefore, Caring ultimately made the decision to renovate the entire course so that it could keep up with the times, especially to gain the approval of professional players.
Els said, "The BMW European Championship is great; it's like the fifth major tournament in Europe. Therefore, the competition venue must have distinct characteristics. I think I've completed this task. Everyone will enjoy the game here, or they might be shocked, but I believe they will find ways to achieve good results."
Although he has already decided to undergo cartilage restoration surgery on his right knee next Tuesday, perhaps out of respect for his good friend, Harrington finally returned to the Wentworth course, bringing along golf equipment. After trying out the course, Harrington gave positive affirmation of Els' work: "I am impressed with the course. They have made the course more genuine, and today's Wentworth is fair to every participant."
So, has the renovated course become more difficult? Harrington's answer to this is: "We will see many dramatic moments on the 18th hole." (Sohu Sports GuiGui)
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