The Players Championship As Golf's Fifth Major? Not Even Close

Renowned sports writer John Feinstein once said that the Players Championship is not golf’s fifth major because there is no fifth major, and that statement has never rung truer.    

Both Lee Westwood and Rory McIlory have said that they will not be attending the 2011 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Could you ever imagine the first- and seventh-ranked players in the world skipping the Masters or the U.S. Open because it didn’t fit their schedule or they didn’t like the course?

“Candidly, I’m disappointed about players not playing here...because it helps our field,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told the Associated Press yesterday at Torrey Pines. “But on the other hand, I feel like we have the right mix of international players on the tour. I see no need for us to have more international players. I also feel strongly that the European Tour needs to be a strong tour. It’s a very good thing for golf globally.”

Well, that’s a great “on-the-record” quote given by Finchem.  But, the reality of the matter is that the PGA Tour DOES need the likes of Westwood, McIlroy, Martin Kaymer and other strong European players.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are still the biggest draws in the game.

But after Woods and Mickelson, the next biggest draws are guys like Westwood, Kaymer, McIlroy, Greame McDowell, Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, almost all of whom are Europeans and three of whom play full time on the European Tour.

To make matters even a little more hairy for the PGA Tour, Mickelson is entering the twilight of his career, and the Tour’s usual sure thing, Woods, might win this week at Torrey Pines just as easily as he might miss the cut.

The fact of the matter is that both tours need the game’s top stars.

The PGA Tour needs guys like Westwood, McIlroy, Kaymer, McDowell, etc. to attend their big events, and the European Tour needs the Woods/Mickelson star power over on their side of the pond.

Yes, the PGA Tour might have more depth to it, but guys like Charles Howell III, Bo Van Pelt, Matt Kuchar, Ben Crane, Nick Watney, etc. are not the ones that move the needle.

People want to see the top players in the world compete against one another, and right now, the top players are pretty much divided right down the middle between the European Tour and the PGA Tour.  

The inevitable solution is a combined tour consisting of around 20 jointly sanctioned events.

For example, the major championships and all WGCs are co-sanctioned by both the European and PGA Tours.  Thus, all of the top players from both tours attend each of these events.    

Tournaments such as the Players Championship, The Memorial, The Quail Hollow Championship, etc. are only sanctioned by the PGA Tour, while events such as the Dubai Desert Classic, The Volvo World Match-Play and the BMW Championship are only sanctioned by the European Tour.

Finchem brushed off Greg Norman’s idea of a single world golf tour several years ago.  But Finchem is now quickly approaching the point where he has no choice but to at least consider the idea, which is indeed the case as we have recently seen a PGA Tour sanctioned WGC Event pop up in China as well as the PGA Tour sanctioned event in Malaysia.

The whole PGA Tour vs. European Tour battle is not good for anyone.

Both tours need the other’s top stars to produce truly world class events.

The European Tour needs Woods, Mickelson, Johnson, etc. and the PGA Tour needs Westwood, McIlory, Kaymer, etc.

The only solution that will benefit all parties involved is to create a situation where the top players from both tours are free to attend at least a group of 20 co-sanctioned events.

Currently the four majors and eight WGCs are co-sanctioned, bringing the total to 12.  Add in an additional four co-sanctioned European Tour events and four co-sanctioned PGA Tour events, and you will without question see guys like Westwood and McIlroy attending the Players Championship, the Quail Hollow Championship, etc. Guys like Mickelson and Woods will be more likely to attend events such as the BMW Championship, the European Masters, etc.

It’s a glaringly obvious solution, yet as is the case with most compromises, neither party involved seems willing to set aside their pride and ego at this time, even if it has reached a point where a comprise such as a “world tour” would equally benefit both tours.