“I’d personally like to see the tour do a moratorium on them, until things pick up."
/Tim Finchem said there was no groundswell to limit overseas releases but as Larry Dorman writes in a New York Times "analysis" of the Bob Hope Classic, not everyone sees things as the Commissioner does.
Still, to restore the Hope to its former glory, more than a title sponsor will be required. The professional and amateur star power that drove TV ratings and attendance for the first 40 years may never return to the level it enjoyed when three former United States presidents played in the 1990 pro-am. But both sides will need a significant boost from this year’s levels.
It is not often that a longtime tournament director goes public with complaints about the number of players missing from his field, as the Hope tournament director Michael Milthorpe did this week in an interview with Golf World.
Noting that 8 of the top 14 players in the world — including the local star Anthony Kim — chose the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in the United Arab Emirates over the Hope, Milthorpe suggested the tour suspend giving releases that allow members to play events opposite those on tour.
“I’d personally like to see the tour do a moratorium on them, until things pick up,” Milthorpe said. “Support our events here.”
Such a move would not be well received by most players, who are independent contractors who value their autonomy. Last year when Finchem asked tour members to consider giving tournament sponsors more value by adding events they did not usually have on their schedule, some indicated they would. But few have.