Allenby On PGA Tour Players: "It's just everything is handed to them on a silver plate."

Mike Walker at golf.com passes along some of Robert Allenby's comments from Dubai about why there aren't more American PGA Tour players like Jason Duffner playing abroad:

"You know, Americans play for so much money, and when you've got a purse where $1 million, a million plus, is first prize, not to say that they are spoiled, but it's a little bit that way. It's like, well, why would I want to travel, when I can make a million bucks instead of going to Europe and only making $500,000 or $600,000?"

"The reason why I want to travel and play elsewhere is because I want my game to get better, and always, even at the age of 38, I want to get better. And the only way you can get better is to play different golf courses. If you're playing the same golf course every week, every year that you come back to, it just gets a little boring. For me, that's what I've found. I've got a little bit bored playing in America. I'll still play there full time, but I'm still going to try to play more tournaments in Europe at the same time and combine the two together."

"But I just think, you know, they have got it a little bit too easy. It's just everything is handed to them on a silver plate. And not to be rude or anything like that, because I'm very respectful for the amount of money that we do play for in America. We are very lucky and very fortunate. But I think the money that we play for in America, that's the reason why you don't see a lot of Americans or a lot more international players coming over and playing in Europe. They are in a comfort zone, and I think that's pretty much what it is."

Comments

[GeorgeM]

Reading Allenby's statement, I would expect his PGAT scoring average to be around 54.
If he isn't able to birdie (or better) every hole played, why is he bored?

Is he really bored by the courses, or is he tired of the competition?
His last PGAT win was in 2001 and he is still looking for his first $1M check.

[Farmingdale]

A lot of people really seem to be down on Robert these days whereas I found him a great guy to be around...

...but he's really doing himself no favors at this point, just talking way too much.

[Stephen W]

I once did a scoreboard carry for RA at the Volvo Masters at Valderrama. He wasn't playing particularly well but you would never have noticed it: I thought he was a really pleasant guy with a lot of talent. Good luck to him - he will always be welcome in Europe.

[Vince Spence]

Why does everybody forget you are not allowed to talk such nonsense in America. WE have the best tour, the best courses and the best players. Just ask us. Do NOT criticize us. You will appear in our papers and blogs and, unless, you have 54 lately or have 10 majors in the past two years (try that), you are vilified.

On the new One-Eyed tour, http://oneeyedgolfer.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-q.html , at least 50% of the low 50 would lose their job each year and be forced to play the Nationwide Tour. THEN, they would flock overseas and beg to play for $500-600k.

The United Auto Workers have nothing on our current PGA tour players.

[RM]

I'm not a fan of RA, but he probably makes some valid points here.

[Scott]

Yeah, it must be boring to lose week in and week out.

[Matt]

He is right is some ways. Americans are able to stay here and closer to their family and make great money. Most of this is ust the "Tiger Effect". I think they ALL have it easy to be honest with you. I would love to play golf all the time for just 50k a year hahaha. The grass is always greener though.

[GeorgeM]

Vince,
Neither I nor others said anything about Allenby's criticism.
Conditions are different in the U.S. and it is easy to see reasons to prefer conditions elsewhere.

However, I do not understand why a player whose game is no where near perfect can claim to need a different environment to both improve and to prevent boredom.
Given Allenby's results, the courses are indeed challenging and have not been mastered.
Why bored?

If he says he prefers playing in Europe, fine.
If he thinks European courses offer better challenges, still fine.
I may actually agree.
Even if I did not agree, I would not deny him his opinion.
But, bored while not able to master the challenge?
That indicates a degree of denial.

[RK]

Who doesn't want to make a lot of money, be on TV, and be as close to your family as is possible (given your career as a traveling pro golfer)?
How is it possible that anyone questions that?
If you see a flaw, a missing piece, please let me know.

[Sharkbait]

Allenby has got it so wrong.

Why would anyone want to go and pay to see an American player, since they all have the personality of a golf towel?

The more of them that stay at home so they can't inflict the rest of the world with all their moaning about how nothing is as good as it is back home, the better.

RK must be confusing professional golfers with American Idol contestants.

[Average Golfer]

Lemme see.....Stay home and win a million, or travel halfway across the world for a 1/2 million?

Can I get back to you on that?

[Jack]

"You know, Americans play for so much money, and when you've got a purse where $1 million, a million plus, is first prize, not to say that they are spoiled, but it's a little bit that way."

First prize at Dubai this week is €830,675 which at today's rate is $1,230,644. This after what was I believe a 25% slash of the purse.

Maybe Allenby's point would have been better made had he piped up a month ago at the Madrid Masters.

"If you're playing the same golf course every week, every year that you come back to, it just gets a little boring. For me, that's what I've found. I've got a little bit bored playing in America."

Now with that he's on to something, Same course every week is dead right. I don't know about playing but WATCHING golf in America sure has become a monotonous grind of a bore.

[Ky Laffoon's Ghost]

Oh, I don't know. Visit Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong (leave out Dubai) while playing a game for a living and traveling first class. Or live in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (close to home for American Airlines or NetJets) and visit Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, LA, Charlotte, Greensboro, Flint (oops, not any more), Westchester County (oops, ditto), Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, Broward County, Rock Island, Memphis, Las Vegas. Over and over again. Yeah, that's a no-brainer.

[Roo]

So Robert says something remotely interesting and gets dumped on. It is any wonder we all lament the beige-ness of pro golf...as a pro, why would you bother doing anything but toeing the party line when this is the response?

[Nathan]

I agree wholeheartedly with Roo. I will never understand why a professional anybody (athlete, entertainer, politician, etc.) would say anything other than "God willing, it will all work out for the best". They simply can't win. We cry for something interesting yet guys like Shackelford jump all over them when they deliver.

[Jack]

You can read what you want into Geoff's words but for me they are decidedly neutral. Now maybe he teed it up for the rest of us to say nasty things. I dunno, was that his intention or not? My comments above were 50/50 and others were fully supportive of Allenby's position. Still, if a dozen posters and ____ readers of a niche blog need to restrain their opinions so professional athletes feel safe in stating what they think then I think the latter need to harden the $%&@ up.

[Tighthead]

Jack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y

[Scott]

Allenby's comments were not "interesting." Interesting requires a bit more I think. It would have been interesting if Allenby read a book other than "12 ways to get up and down from a sand-filled divot." It would have been interesting if Allenby, for instance, read a book on global climate change and held forth in front of the British media on the Euro Tour's carbon footprint. Which is substantial, jetting to and fro between London, Moscow and Marbella, to say nothing of holding its year-end event 3400 miles away from tour headquarters. Hell, next to them, the PGA Tour is practically run by Greenpeace.

[chico]

Most pro tour golf is boring and repetitive and the US tour is worse than most.Tiger helps-thank God for him.
Dont see why Allenby should be pilloried for having an opinion-makes a refreshing change.

[keith86]

Well said Vince

[Steve]

What he fails to mention is the difference between playing near home or far from home when you miss the cut! I mean, let's say someone from Florida travels up to North Carolina to play in an event. If they miss the cut, they jcan ust hop on a 90 minute flight back home and get back to their life. You travel 1/2 way across the world and miss a cut...that is a long way back. Plus many players have families...being able to play near home and/or travel with the family has to be a factor in many of the players decisions.

[E.P. Richardson]

Meh...I don't think golf courses around the world are as diverse as they once were, or as Allenby implies. I think most European players tend to stay in their familiar environs, too, even when most of them could qualify to be "spoiled" in the US. Maybe it's more of a comfort thing, and if there isn't a compelling reason to go elsewhere, such as money, why bother? Of course, Allenby was probably just answering a simple (stupid?) question...