BMW Masters - Poor Field

[Steve Bamford]

Wow just seen the field for the BMW Masters at Lake Malaren. Rose and Dubuisson head the field, with G-Mac and Poulter also in attendance. No other big European Tour names with McIlroy (legal) and Stenson (third child born) missing for obvious reasons. Year-on-year the field is certainly poor on quality. The 'Final Series' has no participation rules or points system - so I'm struggling to see the point. Westwood, Schwartzel and Garcia playing in Malaysia.

Would love to know people's opinions on the European Tour right now. It's current status within the game compared to the PGA Tour and do you guys think it has a bright future?

 

[hovis]

I find the European tour quite borring due to the poor field. i personly think the camera work is poor on the tour too. it sometimes looks like some bloke with his handicam

 

[Deleted member 15717]

The rules changed last year after the players complained. Normally they had to play in 2 out of the 3 Final Series events to then play in Dubai, however, players had a moan due to schedules etc, so they scrapped it this year. It will lead to slightly weaker fields for sure, but I guess it gives someone else a chance at winning, rather than a 'big name'.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

An end of season event with the season finale just around the corner. Can see why there isn't perhaps the interest over and above McIlroy and Stenson and their reasons for not being there. With the European success in the RC the future is looking reasonable. ould be better and we could definitely do with more UK based events but if sponsors aren't forthcoming not much to be done. Clearly the amount of home grown players plying their trade (Dubuisson, Donaldson, Gallagher) who were too good for the US tour players seems to show that there's nothing wrong with the quality of players coming through.

 

[CMAC]

European tour is flagging! They have to give tickets away for some events.

The PGA tour is well run, well participated and very lucrative, even for the guys coming 40th everyweek. No brainer if you want to earn big bucks


Don't know the answer (apart from more prize money in Europe to attract bigger names).

 

[drewster]

What i find most frustrating is that we haven't even got a flagship English Open on the European Tour anymore. Obviously there's Wentworth but to not have an English Open is rubbish. All down to lack of sponsors I guess and with Volvo pulling out too the ET will struggle even more.

 

[Jensen]

You can see why the players are attracted to the PGA Tour as the winners cheque each week is never less than $1 million

 

[Big D 88]

The rules changed last year after the players complained. Normally they had to play in 2 out of the 3 Final Series events to then play in Dubai, however, players had a moan due to schedules etc, so they scrapped it this year. It will lead to slightly weaker fields for sure, but I guess it gives someone else a chance at winning, rather than a 'big name'.

Yep i remember Luiten teeing off at the 1st and then WD'ing just so he could play in the DP Final

 

[GB72]

It has got to the stage where the European Tour is simply becoming a feeder tour for the PGA. It seems that most of the stars plus the youngsters who show a bit of talent and personality are off to the States just as soon as the chance arises. The events that I have seen (admitedly a while ago since I ditched Sky) were empty and lacked atmosphere. It is really hard to get excited watching the final stretch of a tournament being played out in front of one man and his dog. The global golf stars just do not show up unless it is a bit of a warm up for the open (Well done Scotland for tying that one up, not sure why there were never proposals for an English Open played at another Open roster Links Course the week before as a warm up) or it is one of the big appearance money events in Dubai etc. That, in fact, pretty much sums up the European Tour, it sold its end of season finale to the Middle East. Can you imagine the outrage if the FedEx cup playoffs were sold off to the highest foreign bidder.

Perhaps it is time for the other various tours to join up for a global tour and try and provide at least a viable alternative aside from heading off to the PGA as soon as possible.

 

[Val]

You can see why the players are attracted to the PGA Tour as the winners cheque each week is never less than $1 million

Myth.

Next weeks event on the PGA tour will give the winner $540k, there's another before chriosmas overing $340k.

Most are over $1m to the winner but not all.

http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/schedule.html

I said on another forum (can't quote the link though) I felt there is now a growing need for a global tour if anything to save the European tour.

I think the PGA tour and the European Tour really need to sit down together and turn it into a World Golf tour now, it's that in all but name anyway. Look at events like the Players and The PGA at Wentworth being flagship events in each tour outwith WGC's and majors, top European's play Sawgrass because most have PGA tour membership but no top American plays Wentworth probably due to lack of tour membership. It would nice to see the cream of the current PGA tour play Wentworth too.

Look at some of the events that get played on the PGA tour where they clash with some good events on the European Tour but players are looking at Fed Ex and ranking points to play in them. Surely a national tournament like the Scottish/Welsh/Irish open is a better event than the Travellers Championship. Granted lots to do with $$$/£££/€€€ though, the lowest value event on the PGA has a purse of $3.1m (€2.4m) and the Irish Open which is a decent event has €2m.

 

[LanDog]

It's easier to travel on the PGA Tour as well as everything else being better, staying in the one (very large) country must be easier than plodding round multiple continents with different languages and currencies, The PGA tour seems to be more catered to the player's needs, like how they do the 'Florida swing'

 

[BTatHome]

Pgawould never get involved and the pros wouldn't want the travel. It would devalue the pgatour to join with someone else and would also mean less players getting involved, 120 odd play each pga and the same for each euro tour, so how would having only one tournament were only 120 players were playing help them?

 

[Val]

Pgawould never get involved and the pros wouldn't want the travel. It would devalue the pgatour to join with someone else and would also mean less players getting involved, 120 odd play each pga and the same for each euro tour, so how would having only one tournament were only 120 players were playing help them?

The PGA won't go for anything that devalues what they have, my suggestion would be to enhance what they have and enhance the product in Europe.

I wouldn't suggest dropping any events but if it was a truely global tour under one banner then you could effectively have a main event in Europe with an under event in the US (and vice versa) with a qualifying criteria to play in them (as you get now to a lesser extent) and rank them appropriately for FedEx or WR points. Travel is no hardship for these players now and if done properly it would benefit everyone.

 

[BTatHome]

But the travel would be a hardship, they short hop all over the U.S. in a couple of hours, they won't be happy jumping across the Atlantic every few weeks.

 

[DCB]

So, Rose, McDowell, Dubuison,Donaldson, Poluter, Bjorn (all R C Players) Jiminez, Fransesco Molinari,Illonen & Lowery make up a poor field.... Whilst not having all the European high fliers there, that lot isn't a bad start for any tournament and sponsor to see gracing their competition

The only time we see ALL the good names is at a major, even our own flagship PGA Championship didn't attract all that it could have this past year.

 

[Beezerk]

Stenson (third child born) missing for obvious reasons.

Blimey you could pick him still last night.

*dives over the European Tour website and changes team*

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[CMAC]

So, Rose, McDowell, Dubuison,Donaldson, Poluter, Bjorn (all R C Players) Jiminez, Fransesco Molinari,Illonen & Lowery make up a poor field.... Whilst not having all the European high fliers there, that lot isn't a bad start for any tournament and sponsor to see gracing their competition

The only time we see ALL the good names is at a major, even our own flagship PGA Championship didn't attract all that it could have this past year.

is that his manky brother!

 

[Val]

But the travel would be a hardship, they short hop all over the U.S. in a couple of hours, they won't be happy jumping across the Atlantic every few weeks.

Florida to California isn't just a short hop of a couple of hours, but I do get your point.

 

[BTatHome]

Florida to California isn't just a short hop of a couple of hours.

But most of their travel isn't hoping from one side to the other, they do shorter ones, most of the time probably not even flying when they do the Florida swing etc.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Doesnt seem a poor field to me ?

McIlroy had already stated he was missing it - Stenson has a very good reason and a few others have other obligations

I enjoy the ET more than the PGA - PGA is imo dull target golf on courses set up for pin hunting

The pictures are just people putting out - crowds are "mashed potato" all day long

Another event in England would be great but needs sponsership and needs to pick a good course

The RTD also rewards the best player throughout the whole season as opposed to the Fed Ex which rewards the best player over 4 tournaments - the points weighting over there is ridiculous