Wayne Riley
The climax to the European Tour season is almost upon us – and may already have taken place depending on when you read this – and the DP World Tour Championship generally delivers a suitably exciting finale. Few could dispute it’s one of the best professional events that takes place anywhere in the world.
This is a statement that can be applied to several other European Tour events, but I have to admit I’m slightly concerned about the tournaments on the circuit that don’t fall under the umbrella of the Rolex Series or traditional ‘big hitters’ like the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
There can be no doubt the gap between the European and PGA Tours has widened in recent years – something that has been exacerbated by recent events around the world. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the European Tour far worse than the PGA Tour, which has been able to maintain and even increase prize funds. The 2022 Players Championship has a staggering $20m purse.
It’s a difficult time for the European Tour. Keith Pelley and everyone associated with the circuit have worked incredibly hard, but they’re facing an uphill battle. The tour simply can’t compete financially with its American counterpart, promising Europeans are heading to the States as soon as they can and, quite frankly, the talent levels on the circuit aren’t as high.
The European Tour is almost like two tours in one. The big events still attract top fields, something that will likely increase in the wake of the strategic alliance between the European and PGA Tour – the Scottish Open is now an official PGA Tour event, for example. But what about the other tournaments that are lower down the rung?
Back when I was playing, even the smaller events still had a Seve, a Langer, a Faldo, a Woosnam, a Norman or a Lyle. Now, that simply isn’t the case. It’s not uncommon to see a European Tour event without any players in the world’s top 50, and no one losing their card in 2020 due to Covid-19 has meant there are a lot of decent but not great players on the circuit. I’d go as far as to say there isn’t a massive difference between the bottom 50 players on the Race to Dubai and the Challenge Tour’s Order of Merit.
Quite simply, these lower-tier events lack any sort of razzle dazzle and aren’t great spectacles for the TV viewer. On the PGA Tour, even the ‘lesser’ events have fields comprised of multiple top-50 players. The disparity between the tours really comes to the fore during these weeks.
So, what’s the solution? Well, I’ve said before and I’ll say again that it’s time for the game to start holding players to ransom, rather than the other way around. One idea is for the European Tour to split its events into A, B and C tiers and require its members to play a certain number from each category. Obviously, the top guys can’t be expected to play many C-tier tournaments, but they should compete in the odd one to help out. If they refuse then they can’t play in the Ryder Cup, simple.
There’s a bigger picture here: if younger and less-experienced players compete against the best, they will learn and improve and the overall standard will gradually increase. That, in itself, will make the Tour more attractive to sponsors and fans and encourage more youngsters into the sport. The better the competition, the better the overall standard and the higher the level of interest.
I have so much respect for everyone at the European Tour and I know how difficult a time it’s been of late. I’m just eager to see the circuit get the fields it deserves on a more regular basis.
“It’s time for the game of golf to start holding players to ransom”