The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
A new ‘World Tour’ schedule
Musings on a decent first stab at the Rolex Series at the BMW PGA Championship, won in grand style by the least known good player in the world, Alex Noren...
The big change is on
The major championships have lined up on the calendar in the same way since 1972, when the PGA Championship finally moved to August where it has stayed ever since.
But Keith Pelley, the ever-talkative CEO of the European Tour (even the heavy rain couldn’t stop him doing his full spiel at the Wentworth prizegiving) made it fairly clear that the rumoured move of the PGA to May is no rumour, and will happen, probably in 2019.
This will have a knock-on effect on a number of events. First the Players’ Championship will return to March (where it really belongs) and the BMW PGA will move as well, perhaps even as late as September.
Ken Schofield, the former Tour CEO, gave an interesting scenario where the Players’ and the BMW PGA book-ended a sort of major-a-month high season lasting from March until September.
That would involve those events “joining” the official schedules of the opposite tours, and of course result in many more Americans becoming eligible to play at Wentworth.
That to me would seem a good thing for the European Tour and for us spectators. I doubt you’d get a fullscale exodus of US Tour players as at the Open, but there are plenty Americans keen to try Wentworth if Twitter last week is anything to go by.
Also, if it’s timed at the end of the FedEx Cup (which is moving forward to avoid the NFL season entirely it seems) then there’s a chance the latter season Rolex Series events get greater traction and better fields as well.
All this looks like moving toward a World Tour sort of schedule, but one where both the two major tours retain their own identity.
I thought Wentworth last week felt like a major-style venue again but it didn’t quite have the field – Garcia, Rahm, Casey and McDowell were notable absentees as, of course, was Rory McIlroy through injury. But have them all and a few leading American players, it would look pretty glittery.
Noren “quietly” makes his move
“The best player you don’t know about!” screams the US golf websites of the 34-year-old Swede, which is kind of strange considering he’s won five of his last 17 events in Europe and two of them shooting low 60s in the final round.
Noren’s 62 at Wentworth was no surprise because the Tour happily set up the West Course for low scoring on the final day (at least until the rains came and slowed everything down), and he shot 63 to come from six back to win the Nedbank Challenge last year.
The reason why the US websites think this guy is obscure is that despite his five wins, including fairly substantial ones like his Scottish Open victory last July, Noren’s yet to make a splash on the PGA Tour.
But that may just be temporary. By sticking to his fundamentals and not trying to mash the cover off the ball all the time, he’s now in the World’s Top 10 and has got there in less than a year.
“I was always quite worried where the ball was headed off the tee,” he said of his former life. “I worked the hardest on getting the ball on the fairway more often.”
That gave him a calmness about the rest of his game, he added, and crucially an ability to play the harder golf courses.
Will he kick on further? The riches from the Scottish Open and Nedbank (actually he got a bigger cheque there than at Wentworth) don’t seem have made him too comfortable. Once he adapts to US conditions, he will be a threat anywhere.
Still sore, and worryingly absent
Rory McIlroy withdrew from Wentworth with his persistent rib problem and then also pulled out of the Memorial this week which means he’ll be desperately short of reps prior to the US Open at Erin Hills.
More and more these injury niggles seem to be adding up, and make it easier to make comparisons with Tiger Woods‘ similar injury problems.
Tiger said last week that the latest surgery on his back had gone well and he felt pain free for the first time in years. Well, he said the exact same during those “painful” years and shouldn’t be surprised if we don’t believe him now.
He’s still three months away from being allowed to twist his back, according to his candid website statement last week. He also “unequivocally” wants to play competitively again, but I will only believe that when I see it.
Rory and Tiger’s mutual gym obsession seems to figure in most people’s minds as being the cause of their injuries. It’s an easy assumption, but I think it lies much deeper than that.
Veteran coach David Leadbetter has long suggested that the recent boom of young stars in golf will result in an epidemic of back injuries to come.
The golf swing is not a natural movement. Today’s power swings place even more stress on young bodies. It could be a common complaint going forward.
I thought Wentworth felt like a major-style venue again