One of the few striking aspects of the recently released European Tour calendar for 2008 – apart from the general lack of striking aspects – was the appearance of two brand-new events, the Indian Masters and the Korea Open, on the 50-strong schedule. Both are, as you’d expect given their titles, being held in Asia, but, rather controversially, neither tournament has the official stamp of the Asian Tour.
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“As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognized pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia.”
Still, official body or not, the Asian Tour – who co-sanction as many as nine events alongside the European Tour – will play no part in either the Indian Masters or Korea Open after a dramatic fall-out with their Wentworth-based counterparts, one that has provoked some rather un-diplomatic language over the last few months.
“The Asian Tour is appalled by the European Tour’s plans to stage a tournament in India without the sanction of the Asian Tour,” declared chairman Kyi Hla Han. “This move is clearly unethical and against the protocol that exists within the framework of the federation.”
Strong stuff from Han, who is also on record as calling the European Tour’s actions ‘invasive.’ And it got worse when the European Tour went on to announce plans for the Korean event.
"The European Tour continues to proceed on its expansion programme to colonise Asia without the official involvement of the Asian Tour,” snarled Han. “This represents the European Tour’s blatant disregard towards the Asian Tour, which is the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia.”
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"We have treated the Asian Tour as well as we could,” claims George O’Grady, executive director of the European Tour. “But there comes a time when you can’t be totally polite. In all the discussions we have had with companies regarding co-sanctioned events, it is the European Tour that signs the contracts. They – the Asian Tour - are part of our television package. Then we sit back and give them half the field, half the television revenue and half of all our other fees. And we welcome their members into the European Tour, if they want to join, an arrangement that is not reciprocated.
“The promoter in India wanted to do a European Tour and only a European Tour event. We then said we would co-sanction it with the Asian Tour. Which was fine with the promoter. We tried to do it, giving 20 spots to the Professional Golf Tour of India also. The Asian Tour would have received 27 spots. We couldn’t give them half the field because of the 20 spots going to Indians.
“They wouldn’t accept that. And they wouldn’t accept the fact that, in Qatar, where they did get half the field, the promoters said they would not go ahead on that basis. Last year Darren Clarke was willing to play but couldn’t get into the field and the promoters were obviously not happy.”
And so the plot thickens. Rather than a simple argument over territorial claims, this is now, according to O’Grady, more a squabble over the number of playing places available to each tour and its members.
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“The question I asked of the Asian Tour was one they should have been asking themselves: why were the Indians – and the Koreans – coming to us and not them? You earn the right to represent people. We are not marching into India unwanted and unannounced.
“We are not invading. We have been invited by the Indian Golf Union and have been for the last ten years. We always said no, unless we could bring the Asian Tour. In this case the promoter is ‘Golf in Dubai’ who have many interests in India.
“If we are going to try and take on the world order, there comes a time when we have to say, ‘we have a good product, we have the television contract, we have the money,’ so let’s do it. I’ve tried to give some of it away, but they don’t want it.”
Still, for all O’Grady’s well-argued protestations, a dangerous precedent is being set here. The actions of the European Tour beg an obvious question: “what would happen if the world’s biggest, richest and most powerful circuit, the PGA Tour, acted in a similarly unilateral way and elbowed into European territory?”
Putting aside the long-standing reluctance of its leading members to travel outside the US of A for anything other than an British Open Championship or an enormous bucket-load of cash, there is, as things stand, nothing much to stop Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour doing to the European Tour what the European Tour has apparently done to its Asian counterparts. In fact, according to O’Grady, steps down that particular path have already been taken.
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“So, if I have to sit there and say through gritted teeth that such a move is helping to grow the game because the television coverage is being exported around the world, then the time comes when we have to look after our own interests.”
That said, any accusation of corporate bullying levied against the European Tour does hold weight. Apparently prepared to remove the smaller Asian Tour from a tournament equation should circumstances demand, O’Grady has shown a marked reluctance to take on the PGA Tour, even when such an opportunity arose. Which is hardly a surprise. Bullies, as we all know, all too often double as cowards.
When, a couple of years ago, the Royal Canadian Golf Association made public its unhappiness and disquiet over the date for the Canadian Open – a situation that has not changed – the European Tour missed a trick. Had O’Grady approached the Canadians with a proposal that their national championship move to the European circuit and a prime date in, say, the week prior to the US Open, the Canucks may just have been tempted to bid ‘au revoir’ to the PGA Tour.
But that, of course, would have meant irritating Finchem and, perhaps, provoking a turf war the like of which professional golf has never seen. Which could still happen, albeit on a smaller scale. Given the Asian Tour’s public comments so far, their dispute with the European Tour has a ways to go yet. Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
