By Kent Gray
Given the struggles to keep the European Tour financially and logistically viable in this unprecedented time, many feared the Staysure Tour would become a sad casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The doubters clearly hadn’t figured on Ryan Howsam’s vision for the over-50s circuit. The Englishman, who founded insurance firm Staysure in 2004, has become the first individual to have a controlling stake and leadership role in one of golf’s major circuits after taking a majority equity share in what is now known as The Legends Tour.

Howsam will oversee the Tour’s commercial strategy as part of the evolution of Staysure’s existing umbrella sponsorship announced in 2017. The Legends Tour was officially unveiled at the Wentworth Club, the European Tour’s HQ, on September 1 with former Ryder Cup captains Mark James, Paul McGinley, 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie and 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam on hand to sell the sizzle. The quartet will be joined by major champions Darren Clarke, Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie and Michael Campbell as Legends Tour ambassadors. The exciting news for Middle East fans is the work behind the scenes to bring a couple of Legends Tour events to the region. Well-heeled amateurs will also be intrigued by the exciting opportunities to compete alongside some of the game’s greats, including a ‘Legends Club” where Ams will compete in their own Order of Merit race.

New Legends Tour chief Mark Aspland chatted to Golf Digest Middle East soon after the tour’s unveiling to bring us up to speed with the all the latest developments of the circuit that no only refuses to die but is determined to become the “greatest amateur experience in golf’.

[divider] [/divider]

It’s an incredibly exciting time for senior golf.  Discussions were at the formative stage when I started working on the then Staysure Tour in early 2019. Keith Pelley and Ryan Howsam have a really strong relationship and the idea was first discussed between them whilst on the golf course. For the staff and players, we have the best of both worlds, the European Tour will still operate the ‘inside the ropes’ activities, whilst Ryan will have overall commercial control of the Legends Tour and drive the commercial activity and vision.

Majority equity shareholder Ryan Howsam is flanked by Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomerie

It was quite a job to unpick 25 plus years of the integration with the European Tour operations, but the result is a big step forward for a traditional rights-holder to engage with an entrepreneur to drive the business forward.

To align with the premium nature of the product we are looking at aspirational and successful venues to host events. We have an optimum number of 24/25 events eventually and the product we are building and the value proposition behind the Tour will align very closely with Tourism destinations. We have a very successful 10 year partnership in Mauritius and now Seychelles to form the season-ending Tour Championship, and are currently exploring the Caribbean and Middle East to complement the existing events.

We believe the Legends Tour has a unique offering that will complement the European Tour in the Middle East. We are in regular contact with Tom Phillips in the Tour’s Dubai Office and have several opportunities that are being explored.  The UAE has history with the players now playing on the Legends Tour, and we hope to build on this going forward.

The Legends Tour can complement the other golf activity in the Middle East. We are focusing on the Legends Tour being the ‘greatest amateur experience in golf’. The Pro-am and Alliance formats are central to this – it’s not re-inventing the wheel, more focusing in on the commercial value of our players, and offering an ‘inside the ropes’ experience in the tournament that I believe doesn’t currently exist in the Middle East.

It’s not re-inventing the wheel, more focusing in on the commercial value of our players and offering an ‘inside the ropes’ experience in the tournament that I believe doesn’t currently exist in the Middle East.

Aligned to this, in the new Tour structure within the Staysure Group, we have access to over 5.5 million predominantly 50+ UK travellers. This creates a compelling opportunity for premium tourism destinations and helps us to pull together a long-term narrative for the Legends Tour in the region.

In the new proposition, we are planning for standard fields to be 60 pros and 30 amateurs playing over the 3 days of the tournament.  Two pros to 1 am will create an intense, competitive opportunity for the amateur.  We are creating a ‘Legends Club’, where amateurs can play in a number of tournaments and feature on their own Order of Merit too.

The Amateur spots will be at a premium as they are limited and different territories have slightly different commercial models. For example, we are targeting the US golf travel market for our events in the UK to create a week of golf at incredible venues culminating in the Alliance events.  A title sponsor could come in and own Alliance spots too then allocate to charity / junior golf for a CSR project?  We will work a model according to the commercial requirements of the individual events.

The Legends Club proposition feeds directly into the three-day Alliance events and will initially be focused on events owned and promoted by the Tour, but will be built out further over time. We totally respect that a number of external promoters host tournaments and want to use their own format. We aim to have between 6-8 Alliance events for the Legends Club in 2021. The Legends Club is a lifestyle opportunity where you travel and play with your wife /husband/partner to premium destinations living the life of our pros.

The opportunity is not just for over 50s. it’s for anyone with a passion for golf and spending time with our Legends on and off the course. The Legends Tour pros are great fun to be with and provide the full experience of not just golf… eat with them in the Players’ Lounge and enjoy a drink with them afterwards. This is a unique, premium experience that true golf fans will revel in.

“Accessibility to our stars will form the basis of our growth plan moving forwards.”

The celebrity Pro-Ams we have planned with big names from the sports, music and entertainment worlds are designed to create additional charity / CSR, PR and marketing opportunities, plus enhance the playing experience during the week and therefore commercial value for the over-all event. We want to create a week of top quality entertainment to maximise the value of our events.

The Ambassadors are a crucial part of our strategy going forward and we have been specific in their criteria of being Ryder Cup captains and major winners. We will be using them to drive the brand forward, create awareness, generate content for legendstour.com and utilise them for lifestyle experiences as well as playing experiences. They are the perfect marketing channel for us and our partners and we have further exciting additions planned on top of those already announced.

The post Re-branded Legends Tour exploring ‘several opportunities’ in the UAE appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
It was a wee bit nippy at Wentworth for the third round of the BMW PGA Championship. A shower or two added an occasional lack of comfort, too. But at least one member of the now 67-strong field didn’t seem to be feeling either the cold or the wet. Playing in short sleeves, Patrick Reed — along with Sean Crocker, one of only two Americans to survive the level-par halfway cut — shot a bogey-free 68 to reach 10-under par and a tie for fourth place, four shots back of leader Tyrrell Hatton.

While Reed wasn’t quite whistling as he worked, his apparent disdain for the temperature and the intermittent precipitation seemed to help him cope as others struggled. The former Masters champion’s card was the only one not to feature a dropped shot.

“What are you talking about?” was Reed’s jocular response to questions regarding his unorthodox choice of clothing. “This is a nice summer day. I’ve seen worse conditions over here before. But no, I’ve always been in short sleeves. I’ll put on a vest here and there just to make sure my core stays warm. If my core is warm, I’m good. But I do have a couple of tricks. Today I wore long sleeve in-between shots, just to make sure I stayed warm. And I putted with a long sleeve on.”

Still, Reed did acknowledge that things could have been a lot worse. Had any sort of wind picked up he felt things really could have gotten “chilly.” But as it was he was pleased that “the weather held off for us. It felt good to come out and get those juices flowing and get going.”

In that, the 30-year old Texan was successful, although it could easily be argued that the high quality of his ball-striking deserved a better return than a mere two birdies over the first 16 holes. Like just about everyone else, Reed was at times perplexed by the inconsistency of the breezes swirling across the tree-lined layout. Think the 12th tee at Augusta National.

Then there were a number of putts that “burned the edges,” turning what could have been a special day for Reed into one that was simply satisfying. Make that really satisfying. An eagle on the par-5 18th meant he left the premises with a smile on his face.

“I feel like I did a lot of things really well,” said Reed. “I hit the ball solid and felt like I was hitting a lot of good putts but the ball just wasn’t going in the hole.”

As for a final round he will start tied with Open champion Shane Lowry and world No. 14 Tommy Fleetwood as well as Englishman David Horsey, Reed was clear about his tactics with only three men ahead of him – Hatton, Swede JB Hansen and the Scotland-based Frenchman, Victor Perez.

“I play aggressively as it is, so I can be really aggressive,” said Reed. “But I’m going to pick my battles depending on how my swing feels, what the weather is like and the pin placements. Besides, although I rode kind of a cold putter today, I’m actually putting really well. If I get within 30, 25 feet, I feel like I have a chance of making putts. It’s more making sure I give myself as many looks as I can. My aim is to play bogey-free and make as many birdies as I can.”

There was no mention of a final day outfit. But, on the evidence of day three, it is safe to assume Reed will be wearing the bare minimum. No matter what.

The post Patrick Reed, in short sleeves, posts a 68 on ‘a nice summer day’ that was anything but appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
At No. 9 in the world he’s the highest-ranked player in the field. But his elite status on another list is currently providing the biggest motivation for Patrick Reed. At Wentworth just outside London for the European Tour’s so-called flagship event, the $7 million BMW PGA Championship, the former Masters champion has crossed the Atlantic to defend and hopefully extend his advantage atop the season-long Race to Dubai.

So far and with seven events still to play (including the upcoming Masters), Reed is a mere 28 points ahead of PGA champion Collin Morikawa and – more relevantly given Tommy Fleetwood’s presence this week – 102.7 points clear of the hirsute Englishman. No one else is within 250 points of the leader, although rapid change is possible. This week’s champion will receive 1,147 points.

“When you’re in the lead, being able to come over is always nice to try to stay on top,” said Reed, an honorary member of the European Tour because of his victory at Augusta National two years ago.

Reed’s decision to make the trip to an event in which he has played only once before was a late one. Almost too late. The 30-year old Texan missed the entry deadline and had to rely on a sponsor’s invitation to take his place in the 120-man starting lineup.

“It was a tough decision,” he said. “It was a long decision. My team and I were trying to make sure, with everything that’s going on in the world, that we were not putting people at risk when we come over. And, at the same time, not putting my family at risk when I get back to the States.”

In the end, loyalty played a part too.

“I’ve always supported the European Tour,” continued Reed. “I’ve always wanted to be a worldwide player. I’ve always wanted to travel and take my game all around the world. So I’ve always enjoyed coming over. And being a lifetime member of the tour, being here is something I wanted to do. Not coming over wouldn’t have felt right. Besides, all I can control is what I do. I feel like I’m being responsible, being safe and social distancing and taking care of myself when I’m travelling. And knowing the protocols that the European Tour has and how locked in their bubble is, I knew I was going to be safe once I got here.”

He should be; if history is anything to go by, Reed will be afforded a warm welcome. A regular participant in regular European Tour events over the years – he has teed-up in 21 since the start of the 2014 season – Reed has always enjoyed a good relationship with the players on the Old World circuit and, despite his propensity for controversy, with the galleries across the pond.

“I give Patrick a lot of credit for travelling and for playing over here as much as he does,” said former world No. 1 Justin Rose. “Last year he was full of praise for Wentworth. He came here, enjoyed the whole scene, the whole vibe, the whole tournament. There are easy excuses for people not to travel at the moment. We are all using it as an excuse not to get on the plane and do things we don’t have to. So every credit to Patrick for showing up.”

There might just have been one last bit of motivation for Reed. Just over 12 months ago he played well over Wentworth’s West course, also known as the Burma Road. Shooting a 15-under par total of 273, he broke par in every round and finished T-4 alongside compatriot Billy Horschel, five shots behind the winner, former Masters champion Danny Willett, and picked up $345,000.

The post Patrick Reed returns to Wentworth in pursuit of maintaining his lead in the Race to Dubai appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Early progress was slow to the point of immobility in the years after its first playing in 1955, when six-time Ryder Cupper Ken Bousfield won at Pannal Golf Club in Yorkshire, thanks to the fact many outside the British Isles weren’t even remotely aware the event existed. Between 1955 and 1966, participation was limited to English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish members of the game’s oldest professional golfers association. Why then would anyone else pay attention?

Which is not say that the origin of the event did not have at least one powerful and influential backer. Three-time Open champion Sir Henry Cotton was, according to veteran television commentator and eight-time Ryder Cup player Peter Alliss, a “driving force” behind the early PGA Championships.

“Henry felt strongly that there should be a PGA Championship,” says Alliss, who would win the event three times, a record until Nick Faldo’s fourth victory in 1989. “He saw it as affording British professionals a certain status in the world of golf. That was important because it was so difficult for us to go and play in America. Things were different then. I never thought I would see the day when so many of our leading players would live in the States. In my day, that was never going to happen because they made it so difficult for us to go over. We weren’t wanted there, especially if you could really play.”

That same sort of insularity had to change if the new tournament was to make progress. And it did, albeit only after a false start. The first response to criticism of the obviously restrictive entry requirements was the staging of “open” and “closed” versions of the tournament in 1967 and ’68. In other words, any professional from anywhere in the world could participate in the “open” event.” The “closed” version remained available only to those hailing from GB&I.

That attempt at compromise, however, didn’t work so well. By 1970, the championship had fallen into what turned out to be brief abeyance.

“The early 1970s was a turbulent period for the [British] PGA as an organization,” explains Alliss, who has twice served as the organization’s captain. “There was a lot going on, a lot of changes in management at the top over a short period of time. So there was a lot of negativity until the European Tour came into being. That changed everything, of course.”

The “Viyella” PGA Championship, a smaller-scale forerunner to today’s big-time reality, returned in 1972 (at Wentworth) as part of that newly-formed European Tour. (The British PGA did retain an interest in the event, as it still does, in that a small minority of the field qualify to play through PGA regional tournaments). Subsequently, six more sponsors have inserted their names ahead of “PGA.” And five other courses played host (Royal St. George’s, Royal Birkdale, The Old Course at St. Andrews, Ganton and Hillside) prior to Wentworth’s West course, the “Burma Road,” making its second and so-far permanent comeback in 1984.

“We always had a good venue and good sponsors,” says Ken Schofield, whose 29-year tenure as European Tour executive director ended in 2004. “But I can’t claim we had any kind of long-term plan in place. As was the case with a lot of things back then, it was intuitive.”

In retrospect, the 1975 championship at a blustery Royal St. George’s was especially significant. Arnold Palmer, 45, came from far behind with one of his patented charges (his final-round 71 was at least seven strokes lower than anyone in the top 10 after 54 holes) and won the £10,000 first prize in what was by then the Penfold PGA Championship. Just as his mere presence had done for the Open Championship 15 years earlier, golf’s most-charismatic performer raised the profile of the tournament to a previously unimagined height.

“It was the biggest event on the European Tour by then, bigger than any national Open. And we all wanted to play in it,” recalls swing coach Denis Pugh, who works with former Open champion Francesco Molinari and played in the event in 1975 at St. George’s. “But it was a bigger deal that year because Arnold was there, although it had nothing like the prestige it has now. I recall watching him walk down a fairway wearing a cashmere sweater. On a day when the rest of us needed four layers just to feel cold. He was the ultimate macho-man.”

Even as the tournament continued to grow in stature, a caveat hovered just beneath the surface. And it lingers today. Maybe because the European Tour has necessarily or unintentionally (take your pick) diminished the resonance of the title through the prominent presence of so many commercial entities, the PGA of America has, rather presumptuously, assumed ownership of the phrase “PGA Championship.”

It may seem pedantic, but “USPGA Championship” is a more accurate and appropriate title for the major held each year in the U.S. The PGA in Britain, the world’s first association of golf professionals, was born in 1901, 15 years ahead of the American version. And with age and precedence comes rank and privilege.

“The Americans understand marketing,” says a smiling George O’Grady, European Tour chief executive between 2005 and 2015. “I once had a chat with [former PGA Tour commissioner] Tim Finchem. I told him there really should be two brands for the entire world. ‘The PGA’ for the club professionals around the world. And ‘PGA Tour’ for all the professional golfers, which would make his organization the ‘U.S. PGA Tour.’ He was quick to dismiss that notion.”

Still, despite the New World’s indifference, the early days of the Old World PGA Championship were not totally lacking in merit. Not in Alliss’ mind at least.

“It quickly became a little bit more than an ordinary tournament,” says Alliss, 89. “If you won, you were a champion, the best in Britain. So it had quite a bit of kudos. Having said that, we were playing at far more modest venues and for a lot less money. First prize was something like £400, which was a lot then I suppose. So it had some razzamatazz to it. And it was certainly an event I enjoyed winning. It was just a little bit above the rest.”

It was also an innovator. At least in one respect, the championship was moving with the times. At Dunbar in 1968, the then Schweppes PGA Championship became the first “big-ball” tournament in Europe. Englishman David Talbot’s eight-under-par winning score over the East Lothian links was achieved with the 1.68-inch diameter ball, rather than the 1.62 version.

Into the 1970s, the prestige of the event was soon accelerating, as evidenced by the list of winners. BP (before Palmer), former Open and U.S. Open champion Tony Jacklin won in 1972. And 12 months later, then European No. 1 Peter Oosterhuis succeeded his biggest rival.

Even more significantly, by the end of that decade the so-called “Big Five” of European golf—Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer—were emerging and blossoming en route to accumulating 16 major victories between them. Only Lyle would not win the PGA Championship at Wentworth, although the Scot came close, losing a playoff to Paul Way in 1985. Throw in Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie, Angel Cabrera, former World No. 1 Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Molinari and the tournament today boasts a fittingly stellar list of past champions.

“The buy-in from the top five was crucial,” O’Grady says. “The key to what the PGA Championship has become today was the support of the leading players in the 1980s. Faldo in particular was a huge boost to the prestige of the event. For whatever reason, he saw it as a big deal. Back then, I was managing director of Tour Enterprises, but I was also, in effect, the tournament director. My job was to negotiate with the players as well as run the commercial side of the operation.”

Peter Dazeley
The exceptional record in the tournament from Europe’s Big Five of Nick Faldo (four wins), Seve Ballesteros (2), Sandy Lyle (playoff loss), Bernhard Langer (3) and Ian Woosnam (2) helped cement the event as the biggest outside the majors on the European Tour.

The burgeoning success O’Grady describes wasn’t all about the willingness of star players to show up, albeit they were and are an obvious prerequisite for any aspirational tournament. Another big plus was extensive BBC TV coverage, the viewing figures enhanced by the event finishing on Monday, the May Bank Holiday in the U.K. Throw in the annual World Match Play Championship that ran from 1964 to 2007 at Wentworth and a special connection was thus created between fans and venue. Reminiscent of the relationship that exists between golf fans and Augusta National, Wentworth’s holes are today familiar to millions who will never see the course in person. All in all, the end result represented a potent package, one only enhanced by a shift to September when the now twice re-designed lay-out is typically in better shape.

“It’s a title we all grow up craving to win, more than any other on the European Tour,” says former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, neatly summing up the prevailing view.

Further adding to the mix is the unpredictability of the eventual result. Not every champion at Wentworth has been a bonafide superstar. Journeymen have popped up now and then. Simon Khan. Scott Drummond. Andrew Oldcorn. Anders Hansen (twice). Chris Wood. Tony Johnstone. All have lifted the trophy. And for all, victory was life-changing.

“The PGA Championship was a huge event by the time I won it,” says Johnstone, who outdueled Faldo on the final day in 1992. “That the top guys all played throughout the 1980s was huge in terms of establishing the credentials of the event. The big thing for me though was the 10-year [tour] exemption [now reduced to three] that came with the £100,000 winner’s check. That meant I could have a bad year, or an injury and still have my card the following season. I did keep my card every year without the exemption, but that was at least partly because I knew i had that safety net. I was able to just go out and play, which was a massive relief mentally.”

Andrew Redington
Having the likes of Rory McIlroy in 2014 (shown), Francesco Molinari in 2018 and Danny Willett in 2019 win the title helps connect the tournament to the current generation of European Tour stars.

Through all of the above one thing has been noticeably missing: anything more than sporadic American participation. But even that was showing signs of change. In 2019, Billy Horschel, Patrick Reed, Kurt Kitayama, Andrew Putnam, Julian Suri, Tony Finau and David Lipsky made up a record seven-strong contingent. This year, however, has a different look. Of those seven Americans, only Reed, Kitayama and Suri are returning. Like the European Tour on which it stars, the BMW PGA is, in many ways, poorly positioned to cope with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

It remains to be seen, for example, how many of the U.S.-based European stars will cross the Atlantic to play at Wentworth in years to come. McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Viktor Hovland and Henrik Stenson aren’t flying over this year. The most recent European winner on the PGA Tour, Sergio Garcia, citing tax issues, never more than an occasional visitor, is another absentee. The six events on the so-called U.K. Swing earlier this year featured fields well below the norm. Top 50 players were hard to find. The fear is that, even boasting an exceptional purse, the BMW PGA Championship will suffer a similar fate.

“We’ll get through it though,” insists McGinley, who serves on the European Tour’s board of directors. “It’s just a question of what is left at the end of it. How swiftly can we come back? We’re dealing with some really difficult curveballs. The restrictions imposed by the British government are so severe. We have to deal with international players. And we have to deal with the travel that comes with being a truly international tour. So we have a number of headwinds against us.”

McGinley’s ultimate optimism is likely justified. In the 65 years that have passed since its low-key inception, the Schweppes/Viyella/Penfold/Colgate/Sun Alliance/Whyte & Mackay/Volvo/BMW PGA Championship has always found ways to survive and thrive.

The post The strange, sometimes rocky story of how the BMW PGA Championship became the European Tour’s ‘flagship’ event appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“The main difference is the time of the year,” confirms Wiesberger, who prevailed in a playoff with Frenchman Benjamin Hebert 15 months ago. “It’s four layers cold and the wind has picked up. That’s a lot different from last year, when we had perfect conditions. That led to the very low scoring.”

That isn’t likely to happen this time round. A combination of course lengthening—a couple of holes by 70-80 yards according to Wiesberger—re-routing and a bit more rough will ask a series of harder questions of the 126-man field.

“You will want to be a bit more precise off the tee,” continued the Austrian. “All in all I’m assuming that scoring is not going to go anywhere near where we had it last year.”

Happily, this week and next, when the BMW PGA Championship is held at Wentworth, also represents at least a brief return to what used to be normal on the European Tour. Financially anyway. A dozen events have been played on the Old World circuit since the restart from lockdown in early July. In total, those tournaments have (at today’s exchange rate) offered just more than $13 million in prize money. Together, courtesy of their status as Rolex Series events, the purses at the Scottish and the BMW total $14 million. But, after Wentworth, the next four European Tour tournaments are together paying just over $4.5 million.

The contrasts are both stark and obvious.

Andrew Redington
A bundled-up Tommy Fleetwood is ready to make his first start in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open since 2016.

More cash has had a predictably positive effect on the quality of the fields over the next fortnight. Last week’s Irish Open “boasted” only four players from the world’s top 100. This week, 19 of that elite group will tee-up, albeit only six are in the top 50.

Tommy Fleetwood, at No.17 is the highest-ranked player in the field, is competing in his first Scottish Open since 2016 and returning to a land where he has recorded victories as an amateur and a professional. He even credits a first-round defeat to compatriot Graeme Storm in the Paul Lawrie Matchplay event at nearby Archerfield in 2016 for resurrecting a career that had faltered badly in the 18 months or so prior.

“I actually look at that as the turning point, when I started coming out of my slump that has last for more than a year,” Fleetwood says. “OK, I lost. But as I drove home I thought to myself I hadn’t played like that for so long. I didn’t miss a shot. So Archerfield was a turning point where I got things going on again. That’s a nice little positive and nice memory. I genuinely love coming to Scotland. I get a great vibe every time I come here. Playing in front of Scottish fans is always a pleasure. They know exactly what they are doing and they will be missed this week.”

Still, apart from that lack of atmosphere, things are looking up all round, at least briefly, on the European Tour.

The post Why the next two weeks will feel like old times on the European Tour (except for the odd ski cap) appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The European Tour has announced schedule changes to two of its premier events.

On Monday the Euro Tour moved up the BMW PGA Championship and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which will be played in consecutive weeks at the start of October. Both tournaments jump one week on the Old World circuit schedule, with the Scottish Open starting on Oct. 1 at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, with BMW PGA at Wentworth Club in Surrey—the tour’s flagship event—sliding into Oct. 8.

As these events will follow the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Northern Ireland (Sept. 24-27), the Euro Tour has established a second UK Swing for its season, with the current six-week run ending next week at the Belfry.

The rest of the schedule, however, remains a bit of a mystery.

The Italian Open and Turkish Open have not been cancelled but are without dates, leaving a month gap between the BMW and the Masters. Additionally, the HSBC-WGC Champions is in danger of postponement or cancellation after China barred all international spectacles. The European Tour’s season finale, the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, is set for Dec. 13.

The post European Tour announces schedule changes to Scottish Open, BMW PGA appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
VIRGINIA WATER, England — In the 64-year history of the BMW PGA Championship, only one American has won the title, Arnold Palmer in 1975 (when it was the Penfold PGA). And that 44-year run of futility is likely to be extended. By close of play on day three at Wentworth, three of Uncle Sam’s more adventurous nephews are in the top 10, but it will take something extra special for any of them to claim the $1,166,660 first-place check.

After a well-played five-under-par 67, Patrick Reed is best-placed of the three in eighth place, six shots back of leader Jon Rahm. Billy Horschel (71) and Andrew Putnam (70) are tied, four places and one stroke further adrift.

That’s the, let’s say, ordinary news. Much more encouraging is the fact that the trio — all making their maiden appearances in the European Tour’s flagship event — are having a very nice time, thank you very much. (Tony Finau is also in the field and is T-45 after a disappointing 77 summed up by a sad double-bogey seven on the final hole.)

So far at least, the weather has been kind. The Burma Road course has been presented in splendid condition, aided by the change of date from May to September. And the crowds, starved of just about any trans-Atlantic representation over the years, have reacted in positive fashion to the effort made by the visitors to come over and play.

“I’ve been wanting to come for five or six years,” said Horschel. “But the move to September made it a no-brainer for me. I told the European Tour I was coming at the HSBC in China late last year. I was that keen. And I hope more Americans will come in the future. This event is the European Tour’s major in the same way as the Players is for the PGA Tour.

“Plus, this course is such a great test of golf,” continued Horschel. “To shoot low scores you have to hit really good shots. You can’t fake it. And when it gets windy and dried out you really have to think about your shots. I told [European Tour chief executive] Keith Pelley this event has exceeded my expectations, it is a rival for the best of the best on the PGA Tour. Everything has been great. I feel like this is just like a top PGA Tour event. I’m going to tell the guys in America that they should find a way to get it onto their schedules.”

Putnam has already done so, of course. And the 30-year old from Washington state was understandably unfazed by the prospect of some wet and windy weather on day four. Like Horschel, Putnam has nothing but positive things to say about his first visit to London. From the open-top bus tour of the city, to dinner at one of the city’s top restaurants, he’s been having a jolly good time.

“This is just a great championship,” said Putnam. “And I’ve had a great reception from the crowds. They seem to like the fact that some of us have come over. As a competitor you always want to play against the best in the world. This is one of the stronger fields of the year. And this course makes you think. There are a few uncomfortable tee shots out there. They get your heart rate going. In every way, this tournament has a real major-type feel. I hope to come back.”

Already a member of the European Tour, Reed came off the course frustrated by his inability to turn his six-birdie, one-bogey 67 into something really special. But the smile on his face wasn’t long in returning when the subject of his burgeoning relationship with the galleries was raised.

“The fans here are awesome and very respectful,” he said. “I think they love to see the Americans coming over. And ever since I ‘shushed’ the crowd at the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles I’ve had fun here. There is always a lot of friendly banter. The fans took what I did in exactly the right way. Walking up one of the holes today there were even some ‘Europe’ chants as I was with Francesco [Molinari]. That made us laugh.

“I feel like I’m not getting much out of my rounds,” continued Reed. “The good thing Is I’m hitting the ball solid. I’ve had a ton of birdie looks. But I’ve had a few lip-outs and burned edges. If I continue to hit the ball this way — I missed only two greens today — there is a really low one out there for me tomorrow. I’m going to need one to win. The key is hitting the fairways to give yourself chances. But my putter needs to get hot.”

Make that very hot. Chances are Arnold’s record is safe for another 12 months.

The post The Americans are finding the European Tour’s flagship event to their liking appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Padraig Harrington will captain the European team that will defend the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in 2020. At a press conference on Tuesday held in the clubhouse at the Wentworth Club just outside London—next door to the European Tour’s headquarters— the three-time major champion was unveiled as the successor to Thomas Bjorn.

The third Irishman to lead the Old World side after Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke, Harrington was a racing certainty to be offered the job as soon as main rival Lee Westwood announced that he would not be a candidate until the 2022 matches in Rome.

The announcement comes less than a week after Harrington revealed he suffered a broken wrist in December that will prevent him from playing until at least February. Harrington is using a one-time exemption for being in the top 50 on the career PGA Tour money list in order to secure playing privileges in 2019 in the U.S. and hopes to return to play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am next month.

Suffice it to say, Harrington’s credentials easily merit his selection. An assistant captain in the last three biennial contests and six-times a player between 1999 and 2010, he’ll bring a wealth of experience to his latest role, both on and off the course. Winner of the 2006 European Tour Order of Merit and the 2008 PGA Tour player of the year, the 47-year old Dubliner, a qualified accountant, is known as one of the most affable and quotable members of the professional golf fraternity. His interviews, whether one-on-one or surrounded by reporters, are legendary for their length and depth.

Harrington also will have the support of many leading players. Almost immediately following Europe’s victory at Le Golf National last year, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were quick to endorse the former Open and PGA champion’s suitability for the job.

“I’ve always thought Padraig would be a good captain in the United States,” McIlroy said. “He’s won a lot of golf tournaments over there.”

McIlroy and Harrington celebrate after another European triumph during the 2018 Ryder Cup. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Rose was even more emphatic. Speaking at the British Masters only days after Europe’s ninth triumph in the last 12 matches, the former U.S. Open champion called Harrington “the clear front-runner.”

Bjorn, one of the five men (the last three skippers, a member of the European Tour tournament committee and chief executive Keith Pelley) charged with making this latest appointment, was equally glowing in his praise, even before the official announcement.

“I’ve always said when you’ve got somebody that’s a three-time major champion and has the pedigree that Padraig has and holds the respect of the players that he does, it would be difficult to see him not doing it at some stage,” Bjorn said. “And if he wants it this time around, it’s difficult to get around that he is very much the favourite to get the job.”

Well, Harrington did want it. He was indeed the preferred candidate. And now he is the captain.

The post Padraig Harrington named 2020 European Ryder Cup captain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.