"All dollars being equal, what exactly does lucrative mean?"
While Greg Norman is talking about the dim prospects for PGA Tour purses in the coming years (thanks to reader Jim), Doug Ferguson makes a pretty strong case that even a decline would only then bring the purses in line with the European Tour.
Much is made over some of its players - none named Tiger Woods, by the way - spending more time in Europe, even though that amounts to playing only five extra tournaments overseas. Ridicule is aimed at the FedEx Cup, even though its bonus pool is $35 million (27 million euros), which is 3 1/2 times more than what the Race to Dubai offers.
All dollars being equal, what exactly does lucrative mean?
The HSBC Champions, for which Mickelson is the defending champion, is among the richer events on the European Tour with a $5 million (euro4 million) purse.
That's $400,000 (312,000 euros) more than what is offered at Disney, the final event of the Fall Series.
What this doesn't take into account is golf course setup and architecture. Some of the players leaning toward the European Tour have made clear they are either fed up with PGA Tour course setup, bored with the architecture, or in some cases, searching for more week-to-week diversity as a means of honing their games.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 08:52 AM
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (6)
It's not as if they're playing links golf on the European Tour. That, in my view, would be worth playing for less money. What kind of fun would they have, when their livelihood was directly dependent on the way balls bounce on bumps and hollows?
The key for the top guys going over lies in one simple reason -- cash. They can get appearance money, jet fuel, and the like. . .
In addition to the purse, many Euro Tour events involve substantial appearance fees for US based players. In addition, a player with a corporate sponsor with a worldwide customer base is going to have to play overseas to support his sponsor.
Could be so, but I've had the pleasure of talking to some of the players considering a move and they are really tired of playing the same kind of golf each week. Many players think it's not helping their game, particularly come major season when you need to have been seasoned on different courses in unique conditions.
i think there's a chance that the varying styles and conditions of the courses in europe might stimulate phil's famous 'creativity.' it will also be fun to see some of the american studs in the mix with the euros on a regular basis and in less jacked up circumstances than the ryder cup.
the downside from a viewer's pov is the lack of hd coverage (unless johnny miller and co are going over there too). i'd be happy if we could meld the american networks' technical ability with the standard euro tour less-is-more approach to commentary.