McDougall’s passion

You don’t find too many businessmen like Australian Greg McDougall who coughed up $10.5 million to build an 11.3 hectare sports club in Angeles City almost for the fun of it.

McDougall, 62, is obviously well off. But no matter how rich you are, you don’t throw good money out the window. McDougall says he doesn’t expect to get back what he spent on the Hidden Vale Sports Club named after a Brisbane suburb where his family once lived. "It’s not for the money," he insists. McDougall is prepared to take a loss but hopes the red ink doesn’t force the club to eventually shut down.

The club is in the heart of the city, towards NepoMart, and hosts the 2nd Asian Lawn Bowls Championships on May 6-13. McDougall is spending P3 million of his money to bankroll the event which received a P500,000 subsidy from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). Among the eight countries participating in the tournament are China, Hong Kong, Brunei, Malaysia and Korea.

McDougall says the club isn’t quite finished yet. A 60-room hotel is in the planning stage. The 9-hole golf course is playable. And there are three open-air lawn bowls greens. Also in the works are covered lawn bowls greens, a driving range, tennis courts and a boxing gym similar in design to Tony Aldeguer’s facility in Cebu.

McDougall claims he has spent about P30 million to support the country’s lawn bowls program. He financed the trip of 20 bowlers, male and female, who competed at an international tournament in Hong Kong last October.

At the Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur last year, the country’s lawn bowls team picked up a silver in ladies pairs, a bronze in men’s singles, and another bronze in men’s pairs.

Ronalyn Redima Greenless, 31, headed the Philippine delegation in K.L. and also played on the ladies pairs that finished second to Malaysia. She is the president of the Philippine Lawn Bowls Association, a full member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) general assembly.

Greenlees, who lives in Angeles City, told The STAR the other day that medals will be at stake in the eight disciplines of lawns bowls at the coming Asian Championships. Singles, pairs, triples, and fours will be played for both men and ladies. She said 14 games will be held simultaneously a day – six on two greens each and two on the third.

McDougall left Australia to settle in Hong Kong in 1972. He dealt in hair care products, such as dryers, until a Germany company asked if he could develop an electric toothbrush in 1991. McDougall spent two years researching on a design for the toothbrush and conceptualized a technology after consulting with dentists and attending dental hygiene conventions all over the world. It took another year and a half before actual production began.

McDougall confesses that he was fascinated by the thought of creating the electric toothbrush because of his difficulty in removing plaque from his teeth.

When the electric toothbrush was introduced in the market, McDougall became an instant multimillionaire. He stamped a patent on his invention which is now sold in more than 60 countries where he earns royalties. In the last four years, McDougall said there were 71 million electric toothbrushes sold throughout the world.

It was in 1989 when McDougall began visiting the Philippines to do business. That was when he met and married Lilia Sison of Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat. Four years ago, the McDougalls decided to settle in Cebu.

Sports is close to McDougall’s heart and that’s why he doesn’t flinch when asked to support lawn bowls. It’s a passion. That’s also why he thought of building a sports club.

Down the road, McDougall plans to promote boxing shows at Hidden Vale and organize his own stable of fighters. For someone with pockets as deep as McDougall’s, it looks like he’ll go a long way in sports.