Order of Merit to be renamed?

[muttleee]

Just read this on the BBC golf page (yes I know I'm a day late):

"The Dubai World Championship, which will be the sport's richest event, will end the European Tour season from 2009.

...In addition to the $10m purse at the season-ending tournament in Dubai, the top 15 players in the European Tour's Order of Merit, which will be renamed the Race to Dubai, will share a further $10m."

Imagine players talking about their careers and saying for example that they "won 3 Races to Dubai" - or is it Race to Dubais?? Sounds a bit stoopid either way if you ask me.

 

[USER1999]

Exactly what is wrong with calling it the order of merit?

I heard this in the papers, and thought it daft, but I suppose you have to please your sponsors.

 

[viscount17]

Not sure how this will work considering the potmess that ended the PGA tour this season.
I suppose that with big prizes at stake in the Dubai itself, there could be a scramble for places in the Race - which might provide some interest.
What do you bet though that half the Dubai field will play the PGA all season, then suddenly decide that the European is where thay want to be.

(wot me cynical?)

 

[birdieman]

I don't like splitting the worlds best golfers into different tours, I would prefer that the best continue to play on the USPGA tour because they have the best courses, weather, sponsorship and tv coverage. The European Tour works well as a feeder tour to the USPGA tour, should know it's place and stop trying to compete with the Yankee $$.
I know we like to think we're better than the Yanks cos we invented the game and have lots of traditional links courses etc but to win a USPGA event is still a far bigger achievement that winning a European Tour event and everyone knows it, even if they won't admit it! I want to see Els and Woods and Cabrera etc going head to head more than 4x per year, it's like Coe and Ovett - whos's best we never knew cos they never faced eachother - what's the use in that?
What has Dubai got to do with golf other than pure capitalism, it's oil driven economic and corporate bullsh*t, where is golf going? It's meant to be a game for the people, not just oil executives and pampered pros. I expect old Tom Morris is turning in his grave!

 

[John_Findlay]

the USPGA tour because they have the best courses, weather, sponsorship and tv coverage.

Well, you got the sponsorship bit right, birdieman. Haven't been too many European Tour events delayed through weather this year as far as I can recall, and every American course looks the same to me. As for the TV coverage I don't think you can beat Sky's coverage of the European Tour

 

[birdieman]

Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself there J_F??

The ambitious head to the USPGA - Scott, Rose, Garcia etc, the ones that like to be big fish in little ponds stay in Europe - Monty, Westwood, Jimenez etc.

 

[John_Findlay]

No, birdieman. I agree that the USPGA Tour is the "Big Boys" Tour compared to the European Tour....... but for the reason that it has a greater depth of field, not for any other reason.

And why shouldn't the European Tour continue to try to compete with the PGA Tour?

 

[birdieman]

Just for the reason that all the best players should be in one place...on that note a 'world tour' would be great but we know how insular the Yanks are so that's unlikely. Rather than dilute the playing fields week in week out across the globe, personally I'd like to watch the best go head to head more often and that can only happen if one tour dominates completely. I'd have no objection to the USPGA tour looking further afield than Canada! (other than our Open of course).
Tennis works ok, their tour seems to travel all over the world without too many problems. Perhaps it comes down to the fact there are too many golf tournaments and too many golf pros?

 

[muttleee]

Exactly what is wrong with calling it the order of merit?

Nothing, apart from the fact that no one is paying you to do it!

 

[madandra]

Tennis works ok, their tour seems to travel all over the world without too many problems. Perhaps it comes down to the fact there are too many golf tournaments and too many golf pros?

I think you will find that the insular yanks won't travel outside the 'States' because they think that everyone carrying a rucksack is carrying a bomb and not some cheese and ham sandwiches and a bottle of pop. Year after year you hear of Yanks refusing to play The Open because they don't want to fly. The yanks are aloof, arrogant, and extremely obnoxious. For the Yanks to play the European tour it would mean trying to communicate with 'folk who don't speak English' and hotels that don't do fried chicken. Most of them are as thick as 5hite in the neck of a bottle and to be honest, as far as I am concerned they can stay over that side of the ocean.

FFS, Boo Weekly didn't even know where The Home of Golf was.

And one last point, when the NFL played at Wembley one of their star players didn't realise they spoke English in ENGLAND.

 

[John_Findlay]

You forgot to mention that their "fans" are so knowledgable, too, Andy.

"Inthehole!"

"Youdaman!"

 

[birdieman]

Come on lads, we'd all be speaking either German or Russian if it wasn't for these awful Yanks!
Our mass population is also pretty thick in terms of geography, maths and celebrated through Jade Goody and other such morons.
With Boo Weekley, bless him, he really is a redneck but seems like quite a nice guy with it, far more personable than Mr Woods for example.
'Aloof , arrogant and extremely obnoxious' - that is a hefty opinion Madandra and quite wrong. Maybe their golf crowds aren't as conservative as ours but look at our football crowds - not a great example to the UK generally.
On the whole when you are in the US you are treated very well and they have a refreshingly optimistic outlook on life that has been replaced here with very large 'chips on shoulders'. When you meet Yanks here on the whole they are polite and enthusiastic about all our 'awesome' castles or 'quaint' little roads - it's all good fun really.
We invented the great game but they took it to mass appeal and tv levels through Snead, Arnie, Jack etc. We didn't have a golf star here until Sevvy Ballesteros in 76. They therfore have more leverage in the game through a stronger tour and a much bigger golfing public, we can't have a pop at them for that. Stop Yank bashing, it's almost as sad as us Scots slagging off the English. George Dubbya may be a divvy but he'll be gone soon, thankfully.

 

[muttleee]

What do you bet though that half the Dubai field will play the PGA all season, then suddenly decide that the European is where thay want to be.

Precisely. Unless there are some qualification criteria whereby you have to have played in a certain number of events in order to get into the field for Dubai, I can see a lot of people suddenly feeling loyal to the European Tour just for the last couple of weeks of the season.

 

[birdieman]

Seems like money more than titles is what it's all about these days.
Begs the question are these top end pros worth what they earn?
I'd say no but what do I know!

 

[madandra]

Seems like money more than titles is what it's all about these days.
Begs the question are these top end pros worth what they earn?
I'd say no but what do I know!

I am with you on this one Birdieman. Every penny of prize money comes from one source ... the public. Master card, Mercedes, American Express, all the large sponsors are giving away the cash they have charged us for. Am I not right in saying that Ernie and Wee Westwood buggered of chasing the £££'s instead of the Order of Merit.


I think there may be another reason for the name change. They can now wipe the slate clean on Monty's EIGHT .M's and start the race again.

 

[viscount17]

The ambitious head to the USPGA - Scott, Rose, Garcia etc,

or rather the 'ambitious' head to where the money is.

Can't agree with birdie's 'mighty america - saviour of the universe' cr*p but he is right about the respective quality of the tours - even though the European <u>should</u> be better as it could be playing on the better courses, which the yanks won't play because they don't like links golf and we won't manipulate the courses to make them easier to play.

 

[birdieman]

Can't agree with birdie's 'mighty america - saviour of the universe' cr*p

Hello...erm...where did that come from? I basically said they'd a bigger, longer established golf tour than Europe. Please dont quote me on stuff I didn't write!

 

[muttleee]

the European <u>should</u> be better as it could be playing on the better courses, which the yanks won't play because they don't like links golf and we won't manipulate the courses to make them easier to play.

Unfortunately though, the quality of a tour is determined by the amount of prize money on offer and that means that the PGA Tour wins hands down. They have bigger audiences, more TV coverage and more sponsors willing to pour plenty of cash into what can be pretty mundane tournaments. I don't know if the ET can ever hope to compete with that.

 

[USER1999]

I might be in the minority here, but I don't want to see the 'best in the world' go head to heed every weekend. This would get boring. That is what makes majors special.
If it was the top 50 every time, dull dull dull after the first month.

 

[birdieman]

Murphthemog,
I'm a bit surprised at your last post. Isn't that a bit like saying when Arsenal play Man U you'd prefer that at least one of them played their reserve teams or in Formula 1 Hamilton and Alonso should drive in alternate races?
Don't get it - when I go to a so called premium tournament I'd want to see all the best players!