Player- oriented Golf Rules?

Sports

Player- oriented Golf Rules?

글 | 박연정 기자 2021-10-05 / 17:35

‘Controversy is brewing over the Korean Women's Professional Golf (KLPGA) tour rule that says that if the defending champion does not participate, the prize money from last year's tournament must be returned.

Jinyoung Ko (21, Neps), who is called the 'green cutie', did not participate in the US Women's Open (total prize money of $4.5 million), which was recently invited to defend the KLPGA championship title. This is because she participated in the KLPGA Tour Chojeong Carbonated Water Yongpyong Resort Open held during the same period as the US Women's Open (July 8-10). Jinyoung Ko was the winner of this competition last year.

I recognize the KLPGA Tour rules as unreasonable, conscious of sponsors, rather than for the benefit of players. I feel the need to reorganize the rules of the association to be more player-centered.

If you look at the association from the perspective of ‘transparency’, you can see inconsistencies in several places. First, it is difficult to find KLPGA-related regulations (on the website, etc.). There may be reasons for ‘non-disclosure’, but it is not clear why sports cannot be disclosed from the point of view of the legal system.

It is also necessary to disclose the list of association executives and their roles. It is also desirable to disclose the execution of funds as much as possible. In particular, in relation to the execution of funds, the accounting books should be prepared in accordance with international accounting standards, such as income statements and balance sheets.

Of course, as a non-profit corporation, there are limitations, but it should be written in a form that clearly states expenditure items, and even if it is not compulsory, the door to external audit should be expanded to enhance reliability. The executive's expenses should also be disclosed. In the case of public corporations, the execution of governmental expenses is disclosed to the outside in real time.

Laws and regulations related to the basic rights of players should be revised and upgraded to an international level. And it is my judgment that the basic direction of this reform should focus on protecting the rights and interests of golf players and have a decision-making structure centered on players as much as possible. This will further enhance the credibility of the Golf Association.