Lee Westwood: Rory's Probably Had A "Rethink" About Questioning European Stars Sitting Out PGA Tour's Return

Lee Westwood believes Rory McIlroy has “probably had a rethink” after his declaration last week that European Tour golfers have no right to complain about avoiding America during the COVID-19 outbreak. McIlroy mocked players for not willingly quarantining for 14 days with their families in Florida. (You know, because nothing says fun like Florida in July with 4000 people a day testing positive for a coronavirus, versus, oh, Europe in summer.)

James Corrigan reports for the Telegraph on Westwood—one of the players essentially called out by McIlroy given the choice to stay in England for the PGA Tour’s restart—having had a rethink, which is code for a healthy text exchange!

That’s great news since it seemed like an unusually insensitive stance McIlroy took toward his European Ryder Cup peers.

Rory To Europeans Avoiding America For Restart: "It’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine."

With elite players like Tommy Fleetwood, Francesco Molinari and Lee Westwood opting to sit out the PGA Tour’s restart, I didn’t expect anyone to question their decision to stay home. Particularly given travel constraints and the two-week quarantine time (each way) for British golfers. And then there is the restarted in two COVID-19 hotspots (Texas and parts of South Carolina) and in a country with the runaway lead in positive tests.

Rory McIlroy, however, was asked in his pre-RBC Heritage Zoom conference and leveled a pretty harsh rebuke of his European Tour peers, reports Gareth Hanna of the Belfast Telegraph.

“If I were in their shoes and I was asked to come over to the States and quarantine for two weeks before these tournaments, I would have done that,” he said.

“If you really care about your career and care about moving forward, you should be here, I think. Last week was 70 World Ranking points for the winner, this week 74.

“I get there are different variables and families involved, but we all have the means to rent a very nice house in a gated community in Florida. It’s not a hardship for two weeks to come over and quarantine.”

McIlroy passed up the 2016 Olympics over concerns about the Zika virus.

Video: European Tour Pros Hold A Zoom Conference Call

The pitch: “9 star golfers. 1 meeting. What could possibly go wrong…?! See what happened when Martin Kaymer hosted a weekly video conference call meeting with fellow golf stars Tommy Fleetwood, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Colin Montgomerie, Gary Player, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood.”

The European Tour social team is back and better than ever:

"We have always been united in Europe, and it's important we don't have disharmony."

Brian Keogh at the Irish Golf Desk reports the comments of former Ryder Cup Captain Paul McGinley, who is part of the Sky Sports team and is also an influential member of the European Tour board.

Discussing the 2020 Ryder Cup sticking with its current date this year despite player demands to cancel a fan-free event, McGinley begged for harmony.

"Personally, I hope it's going to be played and there's some kind of understanding where we all get united rather than the players having on view and Ryder Cup committees having another view," McGinley said during Sky Sports' coverage of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday. 

"It's important that we are united. We have always been united in Europe, and it's important we don't have disharmony.”

I think it’s a little late for that!

Cohesion: McIlroy Suggests More Points Chasing Across Tours

Things I have not heard while the game has been on a COVID-19 break:

“When does the FedExCup chase start again?”

Another: “who is leading the Race to Dubai?”

And you’ll be shocked to learn no one has asked what a late fall finish for the LPGA means for the Race to the CME Globe. But I don’t get out much.

Yet Rory McIlroy mentioned the possibility of tour’s having more “cohesion” post pandemic and possibly leading to a streamlining. It just wasn’t quite the way that will put a many fans in seats unless he thinks this will consolidate schedules and bring top players together more (theoretically it could).

From Doug Ferguson’s AP story:

McIlroy had an idea, just not a solution.

''Whether it's European Tour events offering FedEx Cup points and some PGA Tour events offering Race to Dubai points, I don't know,'' he said. ''But just a little bit more cohesion, and then I think trying to figure out the schedule going forward this year.''

''The major bodies, they're thinking about one or two weeks a year,'' he said. ''And I think speaking to the PGA Tour, speaking to the European Tour, having everyone together and trying to figure this out has definitely opened some people's eyes to what actually goes on and how many moving parts there is. So I think the more that all these bodies can sort of work together for the greater good of game can only be a good thing.''

Well on the latter point, he is certainly correct.

Collaboration In A Time Of Pandemic: European Tour Chief Is The Lone Dissenting Vote In Ranking Restart

On this week’s McKellar golf podcast, European Tour Chief Keith Pelley talked about the remarkable and unprecedented levels of collaboration between his circuit and others in these trying times.

Yet as John Huggan reports, Pelley issued a memo to players suggesting he voted against the proposed (and approved) structure of the Official World Golf Ranking’s restart next week at Colonial as his tour remains shut down by the global pandemic.

Pelley supported a start, but offered an unsuccessful counter-proposal to protect his Tour.

“We agreed with the proposal that the ranking should restart alongside the resumption of the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour next week on the understanding that dispensation was made for the European Tour and the Challenge Tour—and indeed many other tours around the world—whose players will be disadvantaged by not being able to play at this time,” Pelley wrote in the memo. “Our proposal to correct this imbalance was either freezing the current average points of all European Tour members unable to play tournament golf until we restart our season or increasing the overall OWGR points available at our tournaments when we do restart.

“Without either of those adjustments, the consequences are negative for the majority of our membership, who will lose points through no fault of their own, when they are unable to play.”

Both proposals, however, were rejected, according to Pelley. And, as a result, he voted against the ranking restart proposal. According to his memo, his was the only dissenting voice.

As a result of the OWGR’s vote, Pelley has frozen the Ryder Cup world points list for selecting the European team until play resumes in Europe.

Some players spoke out on social media about the OWGR’s action.

European Tour Chief Pelley On McKellar Podcast: Ryder Cup Decision By Month's End, Hoping For More Co-Sanctioned Events

European Tour Chief Keith Pelley was on the McKellar Golf podcast and discussed a range of issues, including the possibility of a stronger PGA Tour alliance, his few informal encounters with the Premier Golf League (which he continues to characterize as essentially a hostile competitive bid) and several questions about the Ryder Cup prospects.

About 21 minutes into he discusses the weekly calls with the other major organizations in golf, says there is “definitely a will to work together” with the PGA Tour, saying the “conversations have been stronger than they’ve ever been, where that will lead I’m not sure.”

He also made news in helping the golf world zero-in on when to expect a decision regarding the 2020 Ryder Cup, telling hosts Lawrence Donegan and John Huggan to expect a decision by the end of the month.

Steve Stricker appeared on Madison’s Golf Affect Radio Show and essentially confirmed that planning is still going forward but that a decision will come in the next two to three weeks. Tod Leonard at GolfDigest.com with the Stricker comments here.

And here is the McKellar podcast, or wherever you subscribe!

Euro Tour Chief Pelley Shoots Down Bankruptcy Suggestions, Discussess Sponsor Conversations

There were quite a few tidbits from Martin Dempster’s Scotsman story quoting European Tour Chief Keith Pelley that I didn’t see elsewhere and are worth noting.

He directly addressed any rumors of bankruptcy or insolvency, the government’s stance on potential 14-day quarantining come July, and conversations with sponsors.

In particular, related to the European Tour’s plan to distribute £500,000 between charities local to the tournament venues and those chose by leading players, he explained his pitch to sponsors.

“I had a conversation with one of our key partners about two or three weeks ago, and I said, ‘listen, this might not be the biggest event that you have ever done in terms of crowds and hospitality, but it will be the most important event, and it should be the most emotional event’. We are looking at golf as a platform; as a platform to give back, and we are privileged to be able to play. We think that golf is something that we have trumpeted to the government is a perfect sport to come back with.”

European Tour Chief On Players Wearing Wireless Mics Upon Return: "This is the time for us to do some things completely differently."

in rolling out a revamped UK cluster of tournaments and a # campaign centered around European Tour events giving back, Chief Keith Pelley also suggested the times are expediting initiatives to improve their television product.

From Iain Carter’s BBC report on wider implementation of wireless microphones on players.

"People said when we started doing in-round interviews that it'll never work," Pelley added.

"Now they are a key component of our broadcast. To get an insight into the mind of a professional golfer during the actual moment of deciding whether he is going to hit a five or six iron is fantastic."

Pelley expects players to agree to the move and points out that none will lose European Tour cards at the end of this truncated season. "That reduces the pressure," he said.

"Once you've actually had a wireless mic on in competition and it hasn't affected you in any such way - technology has come so far that it is really, really small and won't disturb your swing - then it just becomes commonplace and a way of life."

European Tour Emphasizes UK Event Cluster, "Golf For Good" Theme In July Return

European Tour Chief Keith Pelley and his team rolled out a “reshaped” season with a six-tournament UK swing in July and August followed by a rescheduled Rolex Series in the fall. The European Tour shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 8th.

While also the rollout is similar to the PGA Tour’s upcoming approach emphasizing health and safety, the European Tour model of putting events in a “cluster” with a community-focused theme offers a start contrast to the U.S. tour’s return the week of June 8th.

From the EuropeanTour.com story outlining the dates, venues (eh…) and “Golf for Good” theme.

The ‘Golf for Good’ initiative will be launched at the new ‘UK Swing’ in July and August, six weeks which will culminate in £500,000 from the European Tour being distributed equally between charities local to the tournament venues and charities chosen by the leading ten players in a mini Order of Merit which will run across the six tournaments.

Pelley felt compelled to explain the cluster in case the rest of Europe felt left out.

“Without question we have had to think differently about the remainder of our 2020 season which is reflected in today’s announcement. As golf’s global Tour, diversity is ordinarily one of our biggest strengths, but in this instance it has become one of our biggest challenges.

“Initially, therefore, based on the expert guidance we received, playing in clusters, in one territory, is the best option in terms of testing, travel and accommodation.

“I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank Betfred, Close House, Marriott, The Forest of Arden, Hanbury Manor, The Celtic Manor Resort and The Belfry for sharing our vision for this ‘UK Swing’ and we look forward to returning to tournament play in July with this innovative stretch of six events.

Still remaining to be lifted are travel bans that could throw a wrench in the rollout, though according to Iain Carter of the BBC, Pelley is confident the bans will be lifted.

The tournaments depend on a lifting of government quarantine measures affecting travellers coming into the UK. There is confidence this will not prove a barrier to the tour, which has seen no play since early March.

"In terms of the UK we are very encouraged and very optimistic that the hotels will be operational by the time we play at the end of July and that we will be able to get some dispensation for our players in terms of quarantine," Pelley added.

"And that is absolutely critical for us."

The sensitivity aspect in the return statement is admirable and in contrast to the PGA Tour, where purses have not been touched and charitable efforts have yet to be outlined (though undoubtedly will).

One tournament not mentioned: the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. Brian Keogh with Pelley’s insistence it remains a priority event to reschedule and the various complications with firming up a schedule spot.

Here is the graphic accompanying the European Tour story:

McIlroy: Players Make The Ryder Cup, Says A Majority Aren't On Board Without Fans

In an interview with BBC Sport NI (video version at the link), Rory McIlroy reiterated this desire to see the Ryder Cup postponed if it can’t be played with fans.

Worse for organizers wanting to keep the matches on schedule to the benefit of sports fans and the European Tour’s health and the 9-person Quail Hollow Marching and Chowder Society, McIlroy said his “personal hunch” is that Ryder Cup is headed to 2021.

"I think the majority of players would like to see it pushed back until 2021 so that they can play in front of crowds and have the atmosphere that makes the Ryder Cup so special.

"The players are the ones that make the Ryder Cup. If they are not on board with it and don't want to play then there is no Ryder Cup.

"I see it being pushed back until 2021 and, honestly, I think that will be the right call."

In recent weeks several people (Harrington here, McGinley here) who have reason to know what a postponed Ryder Cup might do for the European Tour’s long term prospects, have suggested a Cup without fans would be better than postponement. Presumably to keep the 2022 edition on schedule as much as any one component.

It’s a bit surprising that McIlroy did not take those hints at heart.

Lawrenson On Fan-Free Ryder Cup Showdown, European Tour Likely Returning With 1990s Purses:

Derek Lawrenson in his Daily Mail column considers the state of the players v. administrators face off over a fan-free Ryder Cup (he has the players winning right now).

Meanwhile, on the European Tour, there has been only silence in recent weeks as they try to put together a revised schedule. Expect an announcement before the end of the month, with a behind-closed-doors British Masters kicking things off a week earlier than currently scheduled in July.

All told, the revised schedule should run for five months featuring around 21 events, including a run in the British Isles in August and a strong cluster of tournaments in October. But it's a sobering reminder of the effects of the pandemic that half of those tournaments are likely to feature total prize money in the region of the $1.1 million that McIlroy won for his charity on Sunday night simply for a shot that finished closest to the pin.

Well when you put it that way…

"Will the PGA Tour reshape professional golf?"

Signs of European Tour financial worries have surfaced in different places, from a new willingness to consider a fan-free Ryder Cup in 2020, to Telegraph’s James Corrigan discussing on the McKellar podcast.

Global Golf Post’s Ron Green explores what this means and says industry insiders are suggesting a PGA Tour/European Tour partnership.

Multiple leaders within the game believe some form of consolidation between the PGA Tour and the European Tour is coming. The European Tour needs it. The PGA Tour can benefit from it.

It’s important for the PGA Tour, according to multiple sources, that the European Tour emerges intact from its current uncertainty. Different, but still here. At professional golf tours around the world, a forced reimagining is underway.

Of immediate importance to the PGA Tour is getting through what will be at least a three-month suspension of tournament competition. Each week the tour sits idle, it costs the organization millions of dollars.

“If the spend isn’t there from the fans, whether through tickets or television, the pot dries up,” a person familiar with the tour’s operation said.

Green outlines some world tour scenarios in such a collaborative setting that sound very familiar to the Premier Golf League concept. Imagine that!

Padraig Budges: Might Have "To Take One For The Team" And Play Fan-Free Ryder Cup

The first drip came in the form of a column by Paul McGinley, and given that piece, combined with a thought, I gave a Shack Show quick take about how the world mood should dictate a low key Ryder Cup.

Yet key players (McIlroy, Fleetwood) and 2020 European Captain Padraig Harrington who have emphatically declared: no fans, no Ryder Cup. Harrington made his views known in early April but now the captain has budged, Rick Broadbent reports in the Times.

Padraig Harrington has admitted that the Ryder Cup could end up having to “take one for the team” and be played without fans.

The Europe captain is adamant that he and the players want spectators to be present at the biennial event in September, but accepts the decision is “above my pay grade” and different scenarios are being investigated. He also said he thought that if the PGA Tour made a successful comeback in June then it “massively” increased the likelihood of fans being allowed into the Ryder Cup.

But as Brian Keogh at the Irish Golf Desk noted on Twitter, this may be more about the very survival of the European Tour, which banks significant Ryder Cup revenue necessary for operations.

Padraig Harrington: Ryder Cup may have to take one for the team and play without fanshttps://t.co/NOFWLQCHI9

Given recent comments by ⁦@mcginleygolf⁩ and now this, finances are clearly critical.

— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) April 28, 2020

McGinley Gently Pushes Back: Have An Open Mind About Different Ryder Cup

The last time Paul McGinley put his thoughts down on paper to expect a need to expect a different European Tour post COVID-19, the news broke soon after that several cancelled events would not be rescheduled and to expect minimalist build-outs.

McGinley has turned up again at Sky Sports to gently suggest a rush to write off a fan-free Ryder Cup needs further consideration for reasons beyond the fan component. Its not hard to sense his view that the financial strain could be problematic if the Ryder Cup is not kept on schedule.

This is a moment for all stakeholders in golf to continue to collaborate, communicate and support each other. We have no similar experience in modern times to look back on and to learn from. Having open minds could well protect the sport and some of its historic events from spiralling into crisis.

There needs to be collaborative sharing of thinking and a sense of camaraderie. We all want our sports to be back to what they were and, in time, they will be. But in the meantime let us embrace the "new norm" for what it is - an unwanted and unwelcome intruder that we will face together and ultimately control.

In the meantime, let us make the most of whatever degree of playing participation and spectatorship we are able to achieve.

For likely very, very different reasons, I support the idea as I noted in this Shack Show quick take.