BLOG: European Union wanted

THE BMW PGA Championship again provided excellent Bank Holiday Weekend viewing and it was good to see so many of Europe’s leading players enter the continent’s flagship event.

Then again, it’s not exactly a hardship to play at Wentworth, be treated like a king and be rewarded handsomely merely for playing all four days.

The previous week Adare Manor hosted the Irish Open – this year without a sponsor, which added a bit of class to the event.

Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood (pictured) played but plenty of their Ryder Cup colleagues remained in America? I thought to myself, why?

The PGA Tour still has bigger purses than in Europe but it’s not as if the Garcias and Caseys of the world are short of cash.

Are the courses in America better preparation for competing in the Majors and WGCs? Possibly, but Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington – European Tour stalwarts – seem to have managed along OK.

The weather? Granted, America usually wins hands down here. But is that really the reason they’d rather merely dip in and out of the European schedule rather than commit to it.

Or is that the easy money is in America and that once in the system it’s difficult to opt out of the cosy PGA environment?
Justin Rose hinted that he was ready to play more in Europe in the future and I hope he sticks to that suggestion.

I firmly believe if we got our best players on our tour week in week out, the likes of Ernie, Retief and Vijay would follow suit because sponsors would be desperate for a slice of the action – and that means big prize funds.

That then opens up the intriguing prospect of Tiger throwing his hat into the European ring. Perhaps unlikely, but he has a Swedish wife and she might well like to bring their daughter up for at least part of Sam Alexis’ tender years in her home country.

It needs our own players to support their tour first though. Over to you boys.

By Chris Bertram

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