Noticeable Uptick In Americans At European Tour Q-School

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Steve Elling talks to the American duo of Peter Uihlein and Brooks Koepka about their successful run of golf in Europe. With the new PGA Tour structure that requires Web.com Tour play to graduate to the big tour, and even then with no guarantee of the chance to play, Europe may increasingly become an answer.

This was eye-opening:

In 2011/12 combined, 85 Americans signed up for European Q-School. This year alone, 83 entered. Moreover, three Americans made it to the finals last year, while 11 are playing for a full tour card this week in Spain.

And...

“People say BK and I are trailblazers, but it’s also the changes with the Web.com that are a big part of this,” Uihlein said.

European Q-School chief Mike Stewart said American players have cited the lack of direct access as a huge reason for their record presence in at the final stage in Spain, plus the fact that Q-School in the States costs roughly US$5,000 (Dh18,400). European Q-school costs half as much at £1,350 (Dh7,879). The third reason was both popular and easy.

“I suspect that the success of Uihlein and Koepka has also played a part,” Stewart said in an email from Spain.

Phil On Morning Drive: WGC's, Playoffs Taking A Backseat In '14

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Phil Mickelson talked about his work with KPMG on their Reading Relay initiative, The Open at Muirfield, Pinehurst in 2014 and his upcoming schedule. Other than dropping the Humana Challenge, he said he's playing most of his traditional early season schedule. But since one can only play so much golf, it looks like he'll be dropping a WGC and playoff events later in the year.

"The first half of the season won't be too different. My performance levels off and goes down a bit as we start to go into the second half of the year," he added. "I think where the changes are going to have to take place are in the second half of the year ... Those events to me are going to have to take a backseat, because I physically and mentally just wasn't able to perform at the level I expect."

The video:

 He also discussed the 1999 U.S. Open and preparing for 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst:

State Of The Game Podcast 31: David Eger

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A lot about David Eger was learned in his recent Golf Digest My Shot, but we decided to have the Champions Tour player and former USGA/PGA Tour executive on to talk about a variety of subjects. Yes, the Tiger drop at the Masters is revisited, as are the usual State of The Game issues. Eger is one of the more interesting figures in the game and certainly a player who has the experience and knowlege to back up his opinions. I think you'll enjoy hearing from him.

As always, you can listen and subscribe via iTunes, download the MP3, download prior episodes here or hit the play button below: