Golf Events / Editor / 17 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

It has been something of a mystery that, while Europe has dominated the Ryder Cup against their more illustrious American counterparts over the last decade, players from this side of the Atlantic have struggled to make the breakthrough in the major championships.

A record-breaking third successive Ryder Cup triumph at the 'K' Club last September and five wins out of six are testimony to what a force the best of Europe are as a team.

This has certainly not been reflected on the two main tours in the world, with the European Tour always being regarded as inferior to its big American cousin, the US PGA Tour, in the past.

But there are signs that, with the help of the Ryder Cup success enjoyed over the last few years, things are beginning to change and the gap is narrowing with the quality of play on the course.

European golf may well still be thirsting after its first winner of a Grand Slam event since Paul Lawrie's dramatic victory at Carnoustie nearly eight years ago, but there has been no shortage of near misses in recent times.

In 2006 alone, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald all got themselves into winning positions, only to fall at the final hurdle.

Two-time Order of Merit winner and European Tour stalwart Ernie Els also had his chances to win a fourth Major at last year's Open Championship while last month's US Masters saw Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington both in contention for victory during the final few holes.

Montgomerie dominated the 1990s and his record eight Order of Merit titles looks unlikely to be beaten as winning in Europe has become a lot tougher and more competitive than it was a few years ago.

Consider the facts. The 2007 season is barely halfway through but already there have been no fewer than 12 first-time winners on the European Tour, and it would be a big surprise if there aren't a few more surprises before the end of the campaign.

Critics will argue that, with so many tournaments now being played throughout the season, many of Europe's top stars have opted to sit out lesser events or play in America where there is bigger money on offer.

But when the likes of Harrington, Els, Goosen and Paul Casey have played, they have, more often than not, found themselves beaten by one of the tour's rising stars anxious to make a name for themselves.

Of Europe's top ranked players, only Goosen and Henrik Stenson have won so far in 2007 as players including Charles Schwartzel, Anton Haig, Chapchai Nirat and Spanish amateur Pablo Martin have unveiled themselves as stars of the future.

While the PGA Tour has had five rookie winners in 2007, a lot of these wins have been achieved when the world's best have been absent and established names including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have been to the fore again, with the trio already having won six tournaments between them this season.

One of the biggest worries for American golf that has emerged in recent years - and was highlighted at last year's Ryder Cup - is the comfortable life that players can enjoy on the PGA Tour without winning, and 'top-tenitis' is a condition that has attracted many newspaper column inches since the scenes at the 'K'Club.

In contrast, the European Tour has always been a good breeding ground for players of the future to go on and achieve worldwide fame, with Singh, Adam Scott and Trevor Immelman all honing their games in Europe.

The biggest problem for the European Tour has always been keeping hold of their best players and persuading them not to defect to the more lucrative PGA Tour.

They may have been successful in getting more international fields for the major championships in America - including the three majors and the Tournament Players' Championship - but Europe is never going to be able to compete with the prize money on offer in the United States.

Els and Goosen remain committed to the European Tour - they are trading at 8.2 and 9.2 respectively to win their third Order of Merit crowns behind favourite Stenson who is available at 2.16 - but other players including Stenson, David Howell and Ian Poulter are all spending more time in America this year, while Donald and Garcia play most of their golf there.

And the situation is unlikely to improve over the next few years with the US PGA holding the rights for the three World Golf Championship individual tournaments, meaning they will be staged in America for the next four years.

When you consider America also stages three of the four Grand Slam events and the TPC - and there is also at least five hours' flying time to overcome - it's easy to see why Europe's best venture across the Atlantic in a bid to boost their world status.
The increasing financial power of the PGA Tour is certainly a worry for its European equivalent and the hope must be that Europe's present best will not forget their roots so that their home tour can continue to grow and become even more competitive.

That has not been the case this week, with only two of the world's top 50 players, Harrington and Michael Campbell, playing in the Irish Open and it maybe the European Tour will have to look at merging with other, smaller tours to keep pace with their more powerful rivals.