Professional Golf 2024 & 2025

I’ve always thought that majors shouldn’t be given any weight in normal tour overall standings. It skews the final look and gives to must advantage to the bigger players almost like it keeps them at the top for ego and because the tour think it’s looks better having a name like Rory as No1 rather than rewarding the players who’ve played a full DPWT season.

yeah just thinking on it a bit more...

If we use the Masters as an example, sanctioned by the ET & therefore gets (a lot of) points in the R2D order of merit if you play well… But isn’t it about as far removed from a European tour event as it’s possible for a golf tournament to be?

In an official capacity, what presence/influence/input do we reckon the ET have during that week in augusta as part of their co-sanction?

For sure its not the field invitees, course set up, the draw, broadcast & media rights, attendance / ticket pricing/ballot, on course concessions or merchandising, local rules, spectator involvement, player score recording, engagement with viewing public, any aspect of tournament management or prizes/money… basically everything that makes it tick, so what’s left that the ET actually contribute at augusta to warrant the sanction tag? Does the DPWT logo even appear anywhere on the ‘property’? (maybe a flag in the overflow car park!)

The only thing I can think of that makes the ‘sanction’ meaningful is that it allows ET member players to play in the Masters without seeking any release permission from the ET, but the ET make this super easy anyway by not staging an ET event that same week so its not like there’s R2D points available elsewhere that ET members are missing out on. So the sanction isn't actually required for that either

So why in among its many deserved rewards does playing well at the Masters (or other majors) need to have any ET order of merit points?

Weirdly (& a bit jokey) it might make more sense to award a chunk of R2D points to players making the Ryder cup team than for winning the masters!
 
The Open has specific criteria to exempt a decent number of ET players (top-25 in the RtD the previous season plus top-5 not exempt in the current season). It has also always been a qualifying event for the Order of Merit, going back to when there were only around half a dozen qualifying events.
Perhaps the others majors should have a specific ET criteria (as they do for the PGAT) in order to be counted, or at least valued so highly.
 
I’ve always thought that majors shouldn’t be given any weight in normal tour overall standings. It skews the final look and gives to much advantage to the bigger players almost like it keeps them at the top for ego and because the tour think it’s looks better having a name like Rory as No1 rather than rewarding the players who’ve played a full DPWT season.

The Tour is a business not a charity. As a spectator I want to see the big names at the showcase finale of the R2D. If I was a sponsor I would want my product associated with the biggest names, who are also, let's face it, the best players and most entertaining to watch.

Looking at the top 10 in the current ranking list, I am much more interested in watching McIlroy and Hatton, who have played in 9 and 8 events respecitively, rather than Parry and Keitan, who have slogged it out all season and played 30 and 29 events.
 
The Tour is a business not a charity. As a spectator I want to see the big names at the showcase finale of the R2D. If I was a sponsor I would want my product associated with the biggest names, who are also, let's face it, the best players and most entertaining to watch.

Looking at the top 10 in the current ranking list, I am much more interested in watching McIlroy and Hatton, who have played in 9 and 8 events respecitively, rather than Parry and Keitan, who have slogged it out all season and played 30 and 29 events.
Nobody said it was a charity did they 🤔.

The future of the tour isn’t the likes of Rory, Hatton (who took the money to abandon to the tour) etc it’s the guys playing it week in week in week out and they should be rewarded for that not pushed aside for bigger fancier names.

If Rory et al want to win the DPWT then play more events don’t get a freebie because of the majors. All that’s being said is put less weighting on the majors that let’s be honest are completely separate entities. The Masters is one of the most closed event fields in golf but players in that get a lot more money toward DPWT earnings and points which just isn’t right. It’s a spectacle of golf in its own right and can gain OGWR points but doesn’t mean it should be weighted higher on DPWT lists where people have slogged all season to get somewhere only to be walked over because the bigger boys get the Masters invite.

That is just one example of why I think what I do. You’re entitled to your opinion and I’m entitled to mine doesn’t make either one of us right though.
 
Weirdly (& a bit jokey) it might make more sense to award a chunk of R2D points to players making the Ryder cup team than for winning the masters!

Well if you were in the RC team then you're automatically in the R2D final tournaments no matter what else you do, so it sort of awards infinite R2D points :D
Fleetwood would have actually needed this loophole to qualify prior to his win in India despite being basically the best golfer on the planet over the last couple of months.
 
Who knows maybe, that would make it better and more traditional, but I’d say this is a move being down to greeting big names and draw more over as it means at 72 holes better and bigger fields would mean the ability to gain OGWR points.
Will no doubt be about owgr. Feels like 'the establishment' won through in the end. Will see how it plays out.
 
Will no doubt be about owgr. Feels like 'the establishment' won through in the end. Will see how it plays out.
Its just too funny.... Now they are falling over each other to say how much they like the competition and grind of 72 holes....
I would imagine that ranking points will be next...though the "team" dynamic could still scupper that...
I wonder how many players will want to leave, now they have to play 4 rounds. since the majority wanted more family time... As opposed to being honest and saying it was all about money..
 
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