Brookline cash cow pays up to $70 million

One of the few causes of smiles among the European contingent here last Sunday came from Will Mann, president of the PGA of America. During the closing ceremony he spoke of the Ryder Cup being "devoid of commercialism", while the main merchandise tent remained open for business and workers were dismantling 59 corporate tents.

The so-called biggest cash cow in the history of American sport had delivered a huge dividend, possibly as much as $70 million when all the loose change has been counted. And officials from The K Club and the Jefferson Smurfit Group, who were here to study the merchandising aspects of the biennial event, must have been rubbing their hands at the prospects for 2005.

There was even the bonus of Mark O'Meara repeating his ambition to captain the American team for the Straffan staging. And Eamonn Darcy, the hero of Muirfield Village in 1987, has already made a formal application to the Ryder Cup committee to captain the European line-up.

From a local business standpoint, the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors' Bureau have been bowled over by the success of the Brookline staging. "It's been an unbelievable golf match, an unbelievable finish and it's been unbelievable for the economy," said official Patrick Moscaritolo. Even at this early stage, it is estimated that visitors to the Boston area for the Ryder Cup have spent in the region of $150 million, based on 42,000 booked hotel-room nights.

Business in the various merchandising outlets surpassed all expectations, up by as much as 50 per cent. Especially surprising for European visitors was the fact that people were prepared to queue for up to half an hour, simply to become one of the 20,000 daily visitors to the main marquee. And if they happened to delay the visit until Saturday or Sunday, the chances were that the shelves were virtually bare.

Though PGA officials declined to disclose how much merchandise was sold during the six days culminating in Sunday, it was estimated at $2 million per day, on top of the $8 million taken in advance sales to corporations.

Proceeds are split between the PGA and the host club, as they will be between European Ryder Cup Ltd and The K Club in 2005. "It's been incredible," said Jeff Brodsky, one of the suppliers. By Saturday afternoon, he had sold all 5,000 of his divot repair tools at $20 each and 5,000 of his $10 ball-markers.

And by way of keeping things in the family, Phil Mickelson Snr also reported a highly productive weekend to complement his son's exploits on the course. Mickelson Snr sold 2,526 sportscopes, or spectator periscopes, at $59 each, to fans desperate to get a glimpse of the players among the milling throngs racing from one hole to the next.

As usual, the biggest sellers were men's polo shirts, averaging up to $70 dollars each. Over the weekend, they were being snapped up as a rate of about 400 an hour, with only out-sizes for latecomers. General reaction from customers was that prices were high, but no higher than expected.

Meanwhile, a turbulent weekend had a gentle footnote in the form of a charming gesture by the participating American caddies. After a whiparound on Sunday morning had yielded $6,500, they purchased a 23-inch replica of the status of Francis Ouimet and his caddie, Eddie Lowery, which stands beside the first tee at The Country Club.

Ouimet, a native Bostonian, in 1913 became the first amateur winner of the US Open at this venue and for added sentiment, the caddies placed the American flag in the bag that Lowery was carrying. And the presentation was made to Crenshaw, closeby the original statue, after the closing ceremony.

It could hardly have been more appropriate, given the significance the US skipper attached to Ouimet's legacy. By way of stressing his belief in fate, with regard to Justin Leonard's monster putt on the 17th, Crenshaw pointed to the fact that Ouimet sank two 20-footers at the same hole 86 years ago. The second of them was to beat legendary English challengers Harry Vardon and Ted Ray in a play-off for the title.