Sporting legends Jonathan Brown, Paul Vautin and Glen Boss spruiked a global golf competition which promised amateurs a $7.2m prize pool and a pro tour-style experience but never went ahead.
On Monday, the Herald Sun revealed keen hitters across the globe were out of pocket up to $7000 each after signing up for the World Golf Competition, which was founded by Melbourne enthusiasts David Coghlan and Jon Kerr.
Sources close to the tournament said about 40 people had lost either full or partial payments believed to total about $200,000.
Marketing for the event launched in 2023, targeting golfers from North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania and promising participants the chance to play on top courses across their local areas and nations, with a global final in the Dominican Republic.
The Herald Sun can now reveal that AFL great Brown, NRL icon Vautin and Melbourne Cup winner Boss promoted the tournament in a slick video of the group playing golf.
In the five-minute clip posted on the World Golf Competition’s YouTube channel in May 2024, Vautin says: “You know what I love about this competition, it gives everyone a chance. Off their handicap, playing the same group. You win that, (then) you just keep going forward and forward.”
Brown adds:“You play with people from all different walks of life.”
Discussing the prizes on offer, Boss then says “cars, cash … cha-ching cha-ching,” before Brown remarks “how are we going to get it home from the Caribbean?”
After winning the round, Vautin says: “I can’t wait to get to the Caribbean. This is the feeling you could get if you join this magnificent competition, you gotta sign up, it’s a lot of fun.”
The Herald Sun is not suggesting that Brown, Vautin or Boss have done anything wrong.
Golf professional Marcus Fraser, who represented Australia at the Olympics in 2016, was also hired as an ambassador for the competition and appeared in multiple LinkedIn videos.
On Monday, Fraser told the Herald Sun that he had severed the contract after organisers failed to pay him.
“I was engaged as an ambassador for World Golf Competition, this agreement was terminated over 12 months ago after seeking legal advice once my remuneration wasn’t received in full as per the agreement and contract,” Mr Fraser said.
He said Mr Kerr and Mr Coghlan reached out to him via a third party but declined to comment on how much he was owed.
The competition was due to run from February to October 2025, with a Forbes article predicting the series would feature more than 13,000 participants.
In addition to the huge cash prize pool, travel costs, luxury accommodation, fine dining and green fees, golfers were lured with the promise of a Porsche Taycan or 911 for a hole-in-one.
But multiple people who signed up for packages – which cost $6744 – told the Herald Sun they had been left hanging by the proposed golf league, with not a single round being played.
The website has disappeared and disgruntled golfers said Mr Coghlan and Mr Kerr had ignored repeated demands for refunds, triggering official complaints to Consumer Affairs Victoria.