How Tour chief could make life easier for Rory
IF Keith Pelley was looking to ease his way into his new role as chief executive of the European Tour, it is fair to say things have not worked out that way. Less than three months into the job, he has seen any number of hot topics land in his in-tray.
The Canadian, who made his name as president of a huge media corporation back home, made the contentious call to allow Rory McIlroy to participate in the Race to Dubai, despite him not fulfilling the minimum number of events.
Pelley has seen Paul Casey basically rule himself out of playing in the 2016 Ryder Cup — unless he does a U-turn and rejoins the tour — while Ian Poulter had to rely on the generosity of American Rich Beem in giving up an invitation to play in Hong Kong last week to preserve his eligibility.
Only last week Wentworth, where the tour is based, declared its intention to become a haven for the extremely wealthy, thereby creating a potentially difficult PR situation for a tour charged with growing the game.
All this while overseeing the schedule for next year and now the Final Series, the lucrative quartet of events to close the season, will begin in Turkey against the backdrop of the turmoil taking place in that part of the world.
A good time, then, to get Pelley’s thoughts, with perhaps his most eyecatching remark being an admission that he is looking into the possibility of reducing the minimum number of 13 events to become a member.
This would go down well with American-based players such as McIlroy, Poulter and Justin Rose, could see other high-profile stars like Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler join and also persuade Casey to return. But it would prove a hard sell to many tour loyalists. Let’s start, however, with this week’s event.
1 TURKISH AIRLINES OPEN
‘ I haven’t heard of any players worried about competing because of what’s going on. We’ve done our due diligence and we’re working with the local authorities to make sure everything goes smoothly. I don’t foresee any problems.’
2 PAUL CASEY
‘I had a wonderful conversation with Paul. He’s had a terrific season and is poised to return to the form that saw him enter the world’s top five. I garnered a lot of insight. We agreed to continue the conversation over the coming weeks.’
3 TOUR MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
‘I’m going to defer my thoughts until a later date because we’re still having a number of discussions on the subject. I haven’t had a chance to meet all the top players yet. There has been a lot of listening on my part, but there will be a decision by the end of the year.’
4 RORY McILROY
‘We’re a members’ organisation and inevitably not everyone will agree with every decision you make. But the way we went about it, and explained it at the players’ meeting, I think people appreciated that.
‘We didn’t just make the decision because it was Rory McIlroy. We went about it forensically. We got an MRI and the doctors’ reports, we sent them to an external doctor and we looked at all aspects of his schedule.
‘Given he had already made a commitment to play in a PGA Tour event, it clearly was not possible looking at all the evidence for him to make up the tournaments he missed due to his injury in July and get to 13 events. That is why it was actually an easy decision to make.
‘And we got unwavering support from Danny Willett (second behind Rory in the Race to Dubai) who had significant dollars to lose in the bonus scheme.’
5 IAN POULTER
‘I think what happened in Hong Kong showed the gentlemen’s side of the sport. Rich Beem sent me a note saying it was in the best interests of the game that Poulter remained eligible for the Ryder Cup. How classy is that?’
6 WENTWORTH
‘Our No 1 priority is having the best golf course for our best event, the BMW Championship, so we’re delighted with the investment the club are making and their commitment to improvements. On the overall picture, I’m optimistic the game will continue to grow in Britain and worldwide, and we’re looking forward to playing a critical role in that.’
7 SCHEDULE FOR 2016
‘We’ll announce it soon and I’m happy with it. We’re now working on 2017 and 2018, so stay tuned for some exciting news. We’re the biggest tour outside America and over the next few years you’ll see us grow significantly.’