European Tour to set up alternative to PGA Tour
VIRGINIA WATER, England: The European Tour is set to join forces with other international circuits to compete more effectively with the US PGA Tour.
"The idea of amalgamating with other tours to put on a really attractive schedule by whatever name we call it is one we are in the final stages of refining," European Tour chief executive George O'Grady told reporters on Sunday.
"We respond to the wishes of the rest of the world; the Australasian Tour, South Africa, Asian Tour and Japan coming together, as long as we identify the key tournaments. I think we are absolutely down the line on that discussion."
Last week world number 11 Padraig Harrington called on the European circuit to turn itself into a world tour in order to compete better with its counterpart in the US.
The Irishman made his comments after being asked whether the PGA Tour, which has dangled the carrot of a lucrative FedEx Cup to run alongside its schedule this season, was trying to steal players from Europe.
But O'Grady said the new amalgamated operation would not be called a world tour.
"It won't be a world tour, that's far too grand for me to come up with," he said. "When I am ready to announce the name, we'll announce it.
"We will be administering it and there might be a name change. We are the European Tour and we are working with all our partners to make, I would say, a strong alternative to the PGA Tour."
O'Grady said there was no war between the European and US circuits.
"We are not in conflict with the PGA Tour," he said. "The PGA Tour opened its doors to the best golfers in the world, made them welcome.
"They make every international golfer welcome and I suppose you have got to credit them for that."
Agencies
(China Daily 05/29/2007 page23)
