Should European Golfers play in Europe?

The European Ryder Cup victory at Medinah Country Club was one of the greatest events in golf, and really helped to showcase the current strength of the European crop. Indeed, the men in blue have won the Ryder Cup on four of the last five stagings of the event, giving extra depth to the argument that European golf is as strong as it has ever been. Currently, golfers from Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupy four of the top five positions in the Official World Golf Ranking, and other Europeans are beginning to regularly challenge on the world stage.

That being said, there seems to be an indirect correlation between the strength of the European game and the numbers of Europeans plying their trade on the European Tour. Since the Ryder Cup success, many have started to question why so many of our home stars play in America. The increasing transition to the States is a worry for European golf fans and of even greater concern to the tour's governing body, which must now attempt to prevent it becoming a feeder tour. But the questions remain, why are more and more Europeans setting up bases in America, and should they feel a sense of obligation towards the tour that put most of them on the map?

Of the 2012 Ryder Cup team, only Martin Kaymer, Francesco Molinari, Peter Hanson, Paul Lawrie and Nicolas Colsaerts play full time on the European Tour. Lee Westwood and Rory Mcilroy took up PGA Tour membership last year, and as I write, Colsaerts is in the process of trying to earn his 2013 PGA Tour card. But what are the reasons for this move?

Fans and the spectacle

The factors are numerous. The weather, generally, is much better, and the events see a far greater level of fan support. Some may point to the boisterous nature of American galleries, and many of their actions, such as shouting ‘get in the hole’, simply shouldn't be condoned, but their dedication to golf cannot be questioned. How often do we see meagre galleries on a Sunday at a European event? Sadly, often. The same simply cannot be said for PGA Tour events, even those considered as second tier.

The fan support is just one element helping to make PGA Tour events more of a spectacle, and contributing to a more exciting and intense atmosphere. The resources given to American events, in terms of prize money, television time and sponsor dedication, far outweigh what we see in Europe. Sky has shown excellent dedication over the years to broadcasting golf, but America has its own golf channel, and terrestrial channels, such as CBS, regularly show live golf. Numerous events in Europe have been extremely well supported, but the fact remains we struggle for sponsorship and have gaps in our schedule. Just last month, another event was pulled from the European Tour roster.

Economics

The product of this lack on sponsorship has been a shift to Asia and the Middle East, a stroke of genius by Chubby Chandler and all those who pioneered the move. This change has undoubtedly made the tour more exciting to viewers and more lucrative and varied for professionals. That being said, is there not an issue with castigating European players for moving away from Europe when the European Tour itself is doing a very similar thing? The reality is the Orient hasn’t been crippled by the financial crisis in the way Europe has, and staging more events further a field is a shrewd and prudent move. I think we need to be slightly cautious on the matter of hypocrisy.

Many will say the European shift to America is solely down to economics, but I would disagree. It comes down to the fact the PGA Tour has become the premier tour in world golf - a product of the aforementioned factors - and the players’ desire to test themselves consistently against the best in the world. Westwood, on his decision to take up PGA Tour membership, said: “Watching the FedEx Cup play-offs on TV last year, I felt I was missing out on playing some big, exciting tournaments. That’s the reason I joined the tour this year, I suppose.”

In addition, Colsaerts, on his decision to try and earn a 2013 tour card, said: “When you’ve got a chance to play this tour with all these players, the courses you play on such a big stage, it would be stupid not to consider it. I’ve played in Europe for a lot of years. It’s an unbelievable tour to play on and get your grades up. But once you get a taste of what the possibilities are here, they get you pretty excited.”

Loyalty?

Unlike Thomas Bjorn, who has spoken out about many Europeans’ so called defection, I can’t see any way blame can be attached to those that want to play at the highest level possible. It shows desire, ambition and belief in your own abilities. Loyalty is all well and good, but these players would be doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t test themselves at the top level. And it’s hardly as if they are neglecting the European Tour. All those mentioned in this piece are still members, and fulfil their yearly European Tour quota. As I see it, they have worked hard all their lives to become the cream of the crop and, as such, they have earned the right to play wherever and whenever they want. We must also remember that many of these players, such as Graeme McDowell and Luke Donald, have spent most of their lives in America, heading over to play college golf, thanks, in part, to the lack of a European collegiate feeder system.

Any prospect of change?

In truth, I can’t see the situation changing. The FexEx Cup play-offs are flawed, but they are undoubtedly more exciting than the Race to Dubai’s climax. What’s more, it is wonderful for golf fans around the world to be able to watch non-major or WGC events that contain the world’s top players. The American second-tier Web.com Tour will also attract more European players as time goes on. As it stands, the player in 20^th position on the Web.com tour has earned $186,000 dollars, $100,000 more than their Challenge Tour equivalent.

The only way to resolve the ‘problem’ would be to create a tennis-style world tour, something that simply won’t happen. It would be great to see the top Europeans play week in, week out on the European Tour, but with the shifting balance of power and dwindling sponsorship in Europe, it isn’t the likely outcome, especially with Americans so reluctant to play any non-major events in Europe. The top Europeans all retain European Tour cards and support the tour as best they can, but it would be unfair to ask them to do more. Perhaps economic recovery, coupled with the rising profile of golf, will lead to more sponsorship and bigger European events. But as it stands, the PGA Tour is the number one tour in golf, and we can’t blame Europeans for wanting to be part of that.