Jordan Mixed Open to make golf history with first male and female tournament – but battle of the sexes is nothing new
- In a groundbreaking move, players from the European Challenge Tour, Ladies European Tour and Staysure Tour will battle for one trophy
- Can we still have a bit of fun when it comes to men and women competing against each other?
On April 4, 123 male and female professional golfers will tee-off in the Jordan Mixed Open.
However, unlike all other golf tournaments, there will be no gender divide. Instead, players from the European Challenge Tour, Ladies European Tour and Staysure Tour (senior men) will all participate in the same stroke play event, to take place in Aqaba, Jordan on the shores of the country’s southern coastline.
Players will tee-off from different yardage, which equals things out when golfers get to the green, and there will be one leader board and one eventual champion.
The fact that this type of tournament, the first of its kind according to the European Tour, is taking place in Jordan, a place the Human Rights Watch organisation called women’s rights “discriminatory” is a bit odd to say the least. Yet, when breaking new ground, why not swing for the fences?
This is nowhere nearly as groundbreaking as the European Tour is making it out to be, but it is notable and will be interesting to watch. Men and women have competed together in multiple sports like tennis, badminton, figure skating and against each other in sports like equestrian and sailing, but when it comes to many sports, pitting them against one another is illogical.
Golf can remedy this with tee-off lengths, as once you get to within a few hundred yards of the pin, male or female, the field is pretty much level: power replaced by accuracy. And when you get on the green, it all comes down to nerves of steel, which do not discriminate by sex.
In golf, it’s only when breaking out the drivers that men have an advantage. A recent United States Golf Association study found that men with a six or better handicap drove the ball about 31 yards longer off the tee, but when you get down to short par three holes, having ladies’ tees is almost unnecessary.
Seeing the news release for the Jordan Mixed Open reminded me of a story I read recently about Swiss cyclist Nicole Hanselmann. She was competing in a Belgium road race, but was forced to stop in what turned into a PR mess as she had caught up to the male racers, who started 10 minutes before the women.
Why the race organisers did the stupidest thing humanly possible and stopped her (literally) at a road crossing and asked her to wait for the men, is mind-boggling. The photo that went viral with the mishap was just as bad, an old white guy wearing khaki pants holding up his hands as Hanselmann looks less than impressed.
Hanselmann was permitted to resume after five minutes, but she ended up finishing 74th, noting the stoppage ruined her momentum. She headed to Instagram for a cheeky post, making light of the issue, hastagging #womenpower.
When done right, men and women competing together can be fun and not disastrous, and it’s great to watch women break into male-dominated sports.
Back in 2015 Cassandra Brown became an overnight internet sensation when she beat all the women, and men, in the NCAA Three-Point Competition. And of course, let’s not forget Danica Patrick who capped an impressive IndyCar Series career with a win in Japan in 2008. Or Julie Krone becoming the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race in 1993.
And the most famous being tennis star Billie Jean King thumping loudmouth Bobby Riggs in three sets back in 1973.
Nobody is suggesting we start combining sports like soccer, rugby and basketball where men and women have clear physical differences warranting separate leagues. Biologically, males and females will always be different, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out some sports from developing parity at one point or another.
When it comes to the financial side, despite the negative press, things are getting better too.
A recent BBC study found 83 per cent of professional sports leagues now reward equal prize money for men and women, a number up from 70 per cent in 2014.
I’m in the camp that believes gender parity is not the final answer, nor should be the guiding light. Sports leagues that draw the most sponsorship, viewers and ultimately revenue, male or female, should be paid accordingly. Essentially, let the fans write the athletes’ cheques.
So, can we have a little fun playing up the “battle of the sexes” like they’re doing in Jordan? In today’s culture where everything between men and women feels supercharged, is there room for some lively competition? I hope so.
Purists are going to say the fact the ladies in the Jordan Mixed Open get to hit from different tees negates the equality of the event. Not likely, but to be honest, who cares anyway? This sounds fun, a new twist on a sport that could, quite frankly, use a serious shot in the arm as it fights to find the next generation of golfers.
If you have a problem with the Jordan Mixed Open and the way this world is headed, maybe it’s time you crawl back into your medieval cave and let the rest of us enjoy life in 2019.
Male or female, sports enthusiasts in all walks of life love nothing more than a good competition, regardless of chromosomes or biology.
