Tour set to be the land of plenty but just when will players get a break?
Richie Ramsay feels spoilt for choice as he eyes up his schedule for the 2022 golf season.
The rebranding of the European Tour to become the DP World Tour brings more money and more events for players to choose from with 47 tournaments spread across 27 countries.
Now 38, Ramsay maybe wishes he was 10 years younger as he looks at the opportunities on offer.
“This is massive for the European Tour,” the Aberdonian told the Sunday Post.
“There has never been a better time to be a young up-and-coming pro or one of the top players in Europe.
“I watched the press conference last Tuesday and a lot of guys were really impressed with what they saw.
“It’s a packed schedule. The only surprise is that there’s no actual break. Many of us were used to a little break around August not long after The Open.
“You would use it as a chance to recharge batteries and, for the older guys, spend a bit of time with the family.
“Then you could gear up for our big push from September to November when we have a lot of big events once the Majors are over and the PGA Tour season has finished.
“So it’ll be a question now of when to take a break.
“You want opportunities to play but it can be hard to be on the road for five weeks without seeing your family.”
Off the course in 2021, golf has been abuzz with talk of a megamoney Premier Golf League and more recently LIV-Golf Investments, a Saudi-backed venture which has appointed Greg Norman as its chief executive officer.
That has promised to initially bankroll a series of events on the Asian Tour, which would compete against the PGA and European Tours, who have agreed a new strategic alliance.
And Ramsay can’t help but think that those threats have led to the change in brand of the European Tour.
“It’s amazing what competition does,” said the Edinburghbased player.
“I would be ver interested to know if this would have happened if the status quo had remained with no possible new entrants to the market.
“What we do know is that competition drives innovation and it drives you to be better. That’s what I have to think as a golfer.
“The potential of the PGL or LIVGolf has driven the PGA Tour and the European Tour to be better and come up with more innovative ways of attracting the top players and giving the fans what they want.
“The European Tour is steeped in history and it has a great heritage. We need to respect and understand that. It makes the brand what it is.
“The Tour was the first into the Middle East and then Asia and Australia to broaden its horizons. And this new name reflects ll that. “Naming rights s a big deal in
port, think of BT Murrayfield in rugby or the Emirates Stadium in football, and the DP World name feels like a natural progression.
“I’m hoping that the strategic alliance with the PGA Tour offers an alignment with the schedules, so both tours can flourish as you don’t want top events clashing.”
Ramsay’s own season has ended at this week’s AVIV Dubai Championship, with him set to finish around 75th in the Race to Dubai standings, not enough to secure a place in the DP World Tour Championship this week.
A fourth place in Ireland in July was the high point, but Richie rues a lack of really low rounds which could have made the difference.
In an era of low scoring, Ramsay has not shot lower than 65 all year, which has stopped him from climbing up the leaderboards.
“I have made strides in the way I swing the club this year. But, without sounding arrogant, I sometimes need to remember how good I am, and know I can do it,” he admitted.
“Unfortunately, consistency doesn’t always pay on the European Tour. You need to go low.
“My technique is better on my chipping and putting but you need to have belief to shoot those really low scores.
“I have to be the best that I can be, even if I sometimes feel that I am playing with guys who are playing a different course. It’s a case of keeping my head down, keep working at it, have a good attitude and believe you can win.”