Weekly tour news by the numbers

10 - the number of years since Rod Pampling last won on the PGA Tour. Pampling, playing alongside Brooks Koepka and Lucas Glover Sunday afternoon, holed a 32-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole at the Shriners to pick up his first tour win in over a decade. TV ratings be damned, the Shriners tournament is further proof that these lower-tier events provide excellent opportunities for struggling players to rebound their career playing opportunities. The 47-year-old now has unconditional status for two years, which is perfect timing for his soon-to-be foray into the 50-and-over tour.

5 - the number of players, who, with a walk-off win this Sunday, will capture Charles Schwab Cup coming up this week in Scottsdale. Scott McCarron's win Sunday afternoon in the Dominion Classic adds him to the list with four other players hoping to prevail at the season finale at the Desert Mountain Club. Langer maintains the top spot, with Jimenez, Durant, McCarron and Montgomerie tight on his heels. The good news, if you're Colin Montgomerie anyway, is that McCarron's win Sunday propelled him into 2nd place overall, which means he won't be playing alongside Bernhard '5-hour round' Langer in the final round. While my heart wants Jimenez to win, my head is going with Monty...

6 - the number of weeks Phil Mickelson will be sidelined because of a recent surgery to repair a sports hernia. Lefty had the surgery back on October 19th, and said that while the hernia was "walnut-sized" behind his belly button, it wasn't anything overly serious. While in consultation with surgical team, it was also reported that Mickelson also inquired about breast-reduction surgery, but nothing definitive was planned going forward.

4 - or rather (FORE!) - the expected yelled courtesy that is now suddenly not so much a courtesy but becoming a requirement for errant tee shots into the galleries on the European Tour. A memo was directed to each European Tour member last week that gallery-related injuries because of wayward shots was on the rise, and as a result each player who injured a gallery member from an wayward shot without giving the forewarning would be subject to tour disciplinary measures. Here's hoping the PGA Tour will get the memo too...

13 - the minimum number of events required for European Tour players to maintain European Tour membership status, might soon change. Keith Pelley, the (American) head commissioner for the European Tour, said that everything is being considered moving forward, after the Europeans lost the Ryder Cup last month for only the second time in over two decades. The current problems facing the European Tour go above and beyond Ryder Cup qualification criteria, and Pelley insists that even if they do soften the criteria to allow more US-based European players to qualify for the team via captain's picks - his goal since taking over the struggling tour has been to create bigger purses and more opportunities to incentivize European players to stay home versus taking up residence elsewhere to earn a comfortable living. "The Ryder Cup is a critical component of our Tour and it is a sensational event. But it shouldn’t be the only reason why someone wants to be on our Tour. That’s our job at hand right now.
We are having discussions regarding the qualification system. We will have them with our players, with our tournament committee and our board over the coming weeks and months. We will adjust the Ryder Cup qualification if we feel that we need to. We won’t be afraid to make the changes."

Good luck with that, Mr. Pelley. Many of the problems facing your tour are ones you've inherited as a result of political/economical challenges that face all of Europe, from economic recession to global terrorism encroaching the continental boundaries of your sport. You will stand a better chance of putting the first golfer on the moon than turning the European Tour into a place where young, talented players see equal purses and opportunities commensurate with their American tour counterparts. But you can nevertheless play a significant role in helping maintain European relevancy in Ryder Cup play. In fact - you must, otherwise the long-term outlook regarding Ryder Cup success is rather grim for the whole of Europe, I'm afraid...

21 - the number of weeks remaining before the next major championship, which is the Masters, beginning April 6th.

Spuzz

Thanks for the clarification. One of the articles I read a few months back cited him as an American... not that there's really that much difference either way.

Par4QC

I guess it was meant to be then.

It's always good to see a journeyman who hasn't played well in years finally get his chance... he almost blew it on the par5 16th, hit a wayward tee shot to the right under the trees, failed to get the ball back in play on his second, then gouged the ball out of the rough to advance it further down the fairway for his 3rd. He ended up making a dicey little 10-footer to salvage par.

The birdie on the 18th obviously won it for him, but that par putt two holes prior on that potential blowup hole really kept him in it. And I'm sure at some point as he was slapping it around on that 16th hole, the thought might've entered his mind that he hadn't won in over a decade, that the odds of him holding off two younger and longer players playing alongside him were very slim. But when that par putt went in on the 16th... you could almost see the pressure just being lifted off of him. It was good to see him overcome that and go on to win.

A late Tuesday item worth mentioning...

Reportedly, which granted means nothing official as of yet, the Zurich Classic in New Orleans will become a team event in 2017.

The specifics:

• 80 two-man teams
• Alternate shot and best ball formats the first two rounds (yet to be determined what the formats will be for the final two rounds)
• There will be a traditional cutline
• Players will be permitted to choose their own teammates, but must have some level of PGA Tour status
• Players who don't pick a teammate will be required to use a sponsor invite
• Both winning team members will receive an automatic 2-yr exemption on Tour per the usual norm
• 400 FedEx Cup points will be granted to each member of the winning team, 300 FEC points for 2nd place
• Automatic invites to the Tournament of Champions and the PGA Championship for both winning team members

The only downside is that the change in format removes the Zurich Classic tournament winners from receiving invites to the Masters tournament. But given that the tournament takes place a mere 3 weeks after the Masters, it's not like there aren't 30-something other opportunities available for players not otherwise eligible to win and punch their ticket to Augusta the following year.

Given the waning interest for this event, which in due part hasn't been helped because of (a) weather, (b) weaker fields, and (c) where it hits on the schedule (with the Wells Fargo the very next week and then the Players Championship the week after) - the change in format might actually be exactly what is needed... and not just for this event specifically, but too for a needed change of pace from the tiring, run-of-the-mill stroke-play events each week in general.

The change probably won't have much of an influence as it relates to securing commitments from some of the bigger names, but then again who knows... it could be something that might appeal to players like Mickelson, Fowler, Reed, Bubba, Snedeker, Kuchar and some of the younger players, especially those who would enjoy playing in a team event with other players outside of the usual Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup formats. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are good buddies, so if schedules allow - who's to say it won't materialize.

But something drastic was needed for this event, and this could be a difference maker. If nothing else, it is something different.

What say you?

Spuzz

Thanks for the insider take. Most people had never heard of the guy before he took the reins, I know I hadn't anyway.

The notion of approaching the challenges facing the European Tour from an entirely different lens is certainly plausible. It also causes me to ponder the idea that perhaps Pelley's Canadian background might help him potentially expand the Euro tour into Canada, which quite frankly might be an idea worth considering given the state of things at the moment.

I'm not overly familiar with the Canadian Tour, so I don't know their financials or to what lengths they would consider a potential merger or partnership of some sort, but here's the situation that no one seems too eager to talk about - the potential for terrorism to encroach further into western Europe. There were a handful of players last week, namely McIlroy and Reed, who withdrew from the event in Turkey because of safety concerns. Now the argument could obviously be made, "hey - look at Dubai... middle eastern country, but no issues whatsoever with safety and security there." That's true, but on that same token their government is incredibly stable and very much reliant on tourism revenue. They cater primarily to European vacationers and expatriates, they know which side of their bread is buttered and by whom. They're not going to compromise that relationship with westerners because (a) their country is actually more westernized than some countries in Europe itself, and (b) they have generally been void of belligerents and extremists for all the reasons mentioned.

So Pelley is faced with a very challenging dynamic as it relates to what is becoming a more limited area of expansion within Europe, which naturally limits opportunities within the continent to expand and grow.

The other dynamic is obviously the overall economic situation in Europe, which is still struggling to rebound from the recession from 8 years ago. Governments are struggling with mounting debt problems, suddenly forced to manage considerable levels of austerity measures as a result, and that has definitely impacted economic growth and long-term financial stability for even the bigger corporations. Once you get outside of London - the economic landscape is far different. Finding corporations willing to let go of $8-$10 million in revenue isn't easy... finding them in reasonably convenient and infrastructural-ready geographical locations makes it that much harder.

When Michael Whan took over the LPGA back in 2009, he approached the challenges from more of a business standpoint. Of course - his tour was centered in an area of the world where the global recession, while still indeed very unstable, had the infrastructural means to better manage the situation in the short term. In other words - he still had something to work with. As well, it didn't exactly hurt his outlook that a lot of young talent was on the verge of turning pro and making his brand more marketable, and there were no geographical limits being placed upon him that would significantly impede his ability to expand his product. And it goes without saying that he didn't have to concern himself with competing against a very strong international tour a mere 6-hour plane ride away. Whan did a phenomenal job, but on that same token - he wasn't dealing with so many things beyond his control.

Pelley definitely doesn't have that same luxury. His goal is to grow and expand his tour, build more long-term sponsorships and increase purses, and at the moment with the economy and all of the other dynamics in play - his hands are tied as it relates to building a bigger brand in Europe. That could perhaps change down the road when/if the European economy returns, but for now - Canada might be the only option he has. But even at that - he will have to convince his players that an occasional redeye to the Canadian provinces is better than nothing.

Spuzz

I guess that means that the "Race to Dubai" is pretty much history? Sounds like it anyway. Hey - at least he's trying something different. Can't keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results.

The Zurich Classic is already enjoying some positive publicity with the format change. Rickie Fowler (reportedly) has asked Jason Day to team up with him in the event, along with Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson announcing their intentions to play as a team.

Mickelson was giving Kuchar his due props as a great pairing for him in the Ryder Cup, so maybe a Kuchar-Mickelson pairing will materialize.

This event already has the potential of going from a low-interest also-ran event to something fairly exciting. Hopefully it continues the positive momentum moving forward, it has every reason to be a very entertaining event.