The European Tour could be facing a biggest-ever threat with rumours ripe the PGA Tour is looking to buy out the Wentworth-based body.
The PGA Tour has already purchased the flagging Canadian Tour and renamed it the PGA Tour of Canada while it also has a strong foothold in Latin America, and now has a yearly $5m event in Malaysia, and where Europe has had a foothold since the late 90s.
And just recently the PGA Tour appointed an experienced executive to a newly created role to help the Tour “increase its efforts in China”.
PGA Tour Commissioner, Tim Finchem no doubt will be praying hard he can close out a reputed rumour the Tour is looking to purchase the European Tour. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
It’s understood PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem has already been in discussion with European Tour counterpart, George O’Grady.
The European Tour was founded in 1972 but is under increasing pressure finding European based sponsors given the continuing downturn in the European economic climate.
This is no more evident than in Spain where there was seven tournaments on the 2011 Race to Dubai schedule but then only one this season.
You also only have to look at the money on offer in the States. Of the some 40 events this season all but three carry a prize purse of less than $5m.
In contrast, Europe is staging 44 events but where the prize purse is Euro 2m or less in exactly half, and while the there’s been 72 players on the PGA Tour earning in excess of $US 1m this season already just eight players on the Race to Dubai have banked more than Euro 1m.
As well, there will be five events on American soil in this month of August while there is just two in Europe, and for most not exempt into the recent WGC -Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship it will have meant no competition for a month and at the height of the summer.
England’s Paul Casey is a member of the Tournament Players Committee and while he’s rekindling the form that earned his three straight Ryder Cup caps, he’s also pushing hard for a corporate executive of note to be appointed to the European Tour that might help fight off the PGA Tour’s drive to own the European Tour.
“I want to help and I want to inject my ideas,” said Casey.
“There are so many good things about the European Tour and it can it be such an unbelievable product given the places we go to, and the players we have.
“But we are so far from maximizing what we have and we need to freshen things up.
“It should start at the top which is the European Tour Board of Directors. Neil Coles has stepped down so we now need to know what’s going on in there as I would like to know who is going to be the new Chairman of the Tour Board.
“It also really frustrates me that we’ve just announced on our website (www.europeantour.com) we’ve appointed a global search firm to find a new Chairman, when Neil retired in May, so why on earth would that simple step take three months?
“We have some incredibly talented people who are already involved in our sport and then if you want to go down a Dermot Desmond or even a Johan Rupert …. We have got some great business leaders in there.
“So we could fill the job with some unbelievable business people who have been in politics or sport and they then can dictate what happens after that down to the CEO.
“We need to this as the European Tour has the opportunity to be an even better product.”
