Sharing the sand pail

He's had it up to hear with those pesky non-members

     Much has been said and written about the current state of affairs existing between a few very high ranking players and the PGA Tour.  To wit, some very high profile European players are declining membership in the PGA Tour and choosing to play the European Tour because they feel the membership requirements for the PGA Tour are unfair to international players who would like to hold membership in both of the world's major tours at once.  As it currently stands, The PGA Tour requires its members to play a minimum of 15 events per year. Non-members are limited to 12 events and those who have resigned their membership limited to only ten events.  Given the fact that the four major championships and the three World Golf Championships that take place on U.S. soil count towards those totals, high ranking foreign players are forced to make some difficult choices and are increasingly choosing to take their appearances elsewhere.


     The world's no. 1 ranked player, England's Lee Westwood, has chosen to skip the PGA Tour's premier event, The Players Championship, in part due to the restrictions placed on players who have resigned their PGA Tour membership.  Westwood understandably feels a certain loyalty to his home tour and desires to keep the European Tour as his primary playing field.  Having tried to play the full mandated schedule on both tours in 2005 and 2006, he found that playing 21 or 22 weeks of the year with a hefty international travel schedule shuttling back and forth between the tours was having a detrimental effect on his game and his time with family.  Similarly, the second ranked player, Germany's Martin Kaymer, has declined PGA Tour membership, as has world no. 7, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.

     The PGA Tour's position seems to be that it is protecting both its sponsors and its membership with the current requirements.  Also keep in mind that traditionally, the PGA Tour was THE place to play for the best in the world both in terms of purses and prestige.  That has been changing, though, in recent years.  The European Tour has grown in stature, notoriety and in economic power, changing the balance and becoming a career destination in its own right.  What sponsors are being protected by rules that drive 30% of the worlds best players to another tour and severely limit their ability to play across those boundaries?  You could make an argument for protecting the PGA Tour's current membership, but the only ones favorably effected by the current rules are those close to the bottom of the money list.  They are given a marginally better chance to gain entry in to fields, thereby enhancing their chances of keeping their tour cards.  Should the PGA Tour really be giving short shrift to some of the world's top players in order to protect the mediocre?  One wonders how that would benefit the PGA Tour in particular and the sport in general.  The simple fact is, playing a sport at the absolute top level has never been and will never be a protected career.  Those who demonstrate the top level of proficiency should be the ones given a chance to play. 

     Although the PGA Tour's membership requirements made perfect sense before the global proliferation of professional golf, they are quickly becoming out-dated and are becoming a danger to the very organization they are designed to aid.  Those rules fail to take in to account the new economic realities of professional golf on a global scale and make the dangerous assumption that top players wouldn't dare to play anywhere else.  If those requirements aren't changed in favor of the elite player who is willing to play an international schedule, the PGA Tour risks becoming increasingly marginalized.  Why not share the sand pail and find a way to benefit professional golf worldwide.  Done correctly, the rules changes can enhance fields all over the world and ensure that the best players play each other more often.  It doesn't have to be a zero sum game.  I'll have some ideas for actual rules changes later in the week.  Next up, this week's "Implemental favorites."