It’s time for the over-50s to face the USA in a Senior Ryder Cup

ARyder Cup-style match between Europe and the USA for over-50s would be the perfect way to boost the European Senior Tour.

For that reason, I can easily understand why the new Head of the Tour, David MacLaren, is so keen on the idea.

The current schedule has only 15 events, and runs from March until December. It is very spread out and a bit piecemeal.

That’s why a Transatlantic team event would be ideal. It would provide a narrative that would run through the season.

Qualifying points could be available at the regular tournaments and would give those a boost. It might also attract more sponsors on board.

It’s obvious why the European Senior Tour is keen, but this idea would only work with the support of the PGA Tour Champions.

They already have 27 events running from January to November, and most tournaments have a purse of around $2m.

They would need to be persuaded of the benefits, but I’m sure TV companies would relish some team golf for the over-50s.

If it does happen, the first match would have to be played over in America. That’s how it would take off.

They would be more likely to find a high-class sponsor along with good weather, the ideal course and good crowds.

With Bernhard Langer continuing to dominate on the PGA Tour Champions, the Americans might also like the idea of uniting as a team to try to defeat him!

But one thing to remember is that it could not be a like-for-like replica of the Ryder Cup. The format would have to be tinkered.

For a start, there is no way the Seniors would be able to play 36 holes of fourballs and foursomes in a day.

While a rose-tinted image of old Ryder Cup stalwarts doing battle against each other springs to mind, that is not realistic.

There would have to be an element of fairness and so a merit system would be needed to pick out the best players that year.

Guys like Stephen Dodd and Philip Golding were journeymen pros on the European Tour.

But they have been solid winners since turning 50 on the Senior Tour. It’s the same scenario for people like Scott McCarron and Kevin Sutherland on the PGA Tour Champions.

By rights, they would be among the best players and, as such, would deserve to take their places in any match alongside Langer and Colin Montgomerie.

However, what about someone like Sir Nick Faldo? His golf has not been great as a senior, but a sponsor would love to have a stellar name like him involved.

In that way, the team might have to comprise automatic qualifiers, with a couple of captain’s picks and a pair of sponsors’ invites.

Perhaps it’s not the purest or fairest way of selecting a team. But it could be what is needed to get the idea off the ground.

David MacLaren has said he wants to increase the European Senior Tour to 20 events by 2019. An over-50s Ryder Cup-style event could be the spearhead for that.