Pro golfer Bubba Watson talks about the LIV Golf experience for spectators
“It’s going to be exciting,” Watson said. “I mean, this is entertainment at its best.”
- Bubba Watson on playing in Westfield: ‘When you think about Indiana, you think about sports’
- The three-round, no-cut event will be held Aug. 15-17 at The Club of Chatham Hills
WESTFIELD — Betsy Henke Garfield and her brother, Brad Henke, initially set up in a coffee shop at Chatham Hills to take the Zoom call.
Henke Garfield, a partner with Henke Development Group, had been contacted by the Indiana Sports Corps, informing her that site selectors with LIV golf would be in town and were interested in meeting. They weren’t entirely sure how “real” the invitation was, she laughed Wednesday, but within a few seconds of dialing in, they realized the interest was in fact legitimate and quickly relocated to a conference room.
“Right from the get-go it was an exciting surprise that Indy was back in consideration for major professional golf at that elite level,” Henke Garfield said. “It’s been a long time.”
The two sides continued working together and when the site selectors visited Indianapolis, Henke Garfield showed them around Grand Park and explained how Indianapolis “would rally for golf and rally for their event,” same as it has for other major sporting events.
“I think they were considering Indy, but that really helped us stand out,” she said. “There’s the family aspect and hospitality feel, too — all these pieces started to make sense.”
About a year after that initial Zoom call and LIV officials were back in Westfield, this time to promote the Individual Championship finale, slated for Aug. 15-17 at The Club of Chatham Hills.
“When you think about where we’re at, what part of the world we’re at, the location we’re at — it’s pretty central, and when you think about Indiana, you think about sports,” said Bubba Watson, a LIV golfer and two-time Masters champion. “Golf is just a new adventure, trying to bring it here, trying to get people behind it. … It’s going to be fun for us, but I think bringing a different sport to this area, which is already a sports town, is a dream come true for us.”
The three-round, no-cut event will have heavy implications on the LIV season, Watson said, with an individual champion being crowned, as teams jockey for position in the team championship chase. “There’s going to be some real competition, some real grinding out there trying to better yourself for the road ahead.”
There’s also hope the event will further the game’s growth in the Indianapolis area. Henke Garfield recalled LIV players wanting to play in front of kids who like to compete. “Just let them see the game of golf and hope they’ll want to start playing it,” she said. “And that’s kind of what we do with all the other sports, right?”
Watson headed out to the practice greens after completing his media responsibilities Wednesday and offered a few putting tips to those in attendance before inviting golfers from the Guerin Catholic and Westfield high school teams to try their hand at knocking one down.
“We’re trying to inspire young people to get outside and play golf and see a great game,” Watson said. “There’s so many levels to golf. It’s not just professional golf, but maybe we can inspire like Caitlin (Clark) does around here and get people to play the game.”
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
Read the full article here
