South African pulls out of the DP World Championship in Dubai as the European Tour faces dilemma over player schedules and the talent drain to the US
Ernie Els has never been shy to offer an opinion. The South African launched an epic tirade against the set-up at Wentworth, his long-time home course, during the 2012 PGA Championship. "Really, I am pissed off" was among Els's more tame sentiments at that time.
Later last year, Els claimed advances in equipment are responsible for relative parity in top-level golf. "I look around now and see guys winning, guys who could never have done so 20 years ago," he said.
On Sunday, Els was at it again. This time his target was those behind the European Tour's schedule and, specifically, this year's inaugural Final Series which encompasses two tournaments in China, with one each in Turkey and Dubai. Els has pulled out of the DP World Championship event in Dubai, the lucrative finale of the European Tour season, to emphasise his disquiet. Competitors must play in at least two of the three events preceding Dubai to be eligible for a spot in the Emirate state's 60-man field.
"I don't think they really care," Els said when asked how the Tour had reacted to the news that he would not feature in Dubai. "Why would they make a decision like that and expect guys to play? It's farcical. In my view it's an absolute joke."
Els, 44, is neither inexperienced nor loose with his tongue. He will be well aware of the impact of whatever he says and would presumably have the backing of Joost Luiten, who went through the farcical scenario of playing just a single shot at the BMW Masters in Shanghai before withdrawing because of a shoulder injury. By hitting that one drive, Luiten protected his chances of reaching Dubai. Luke Donald, on Twitter, promptly stated "Can't blame Joost – new rule forced his hand".
Ian Poulter, who is based in Florida, offered a similar if softer view to Els, also during the BMW Masters. Poulter said: "For me it's too far to go home for a week and so I'm away for a month now, missing the kids, finding it difficult and people are trying to make it more difficult.
"Don't get me wrong, I love playing here and around the world, and I have a global business. But you do need to pick and choose your events carefully so you can do yourself justice and it's not getting any easier when it gets to the end of a season and people are telling you where you've got to play."
Els and Poulter, like so many at the upper echelon, find themselves with the increasing difficulty of featuring on the more high-profile and wealthy PGA Tour in the United States while maintaining a presence in Europe.
The European Tour has recently added an incentive for players to participate in tournaments in their home continent but 13 is the minimum figure for members to retain their card.
Co-sanctioned events such as the four World Championships make that figure attainable but there is clearly increasing disquiet over what some players view as unreasonable demands on their time.
By Monday lunchtime, the European Tour launched its response to Els. Keith Waters, chief operating officer and director of international policy, said: "The Final Series is a concept which was initiated through discussions with the membership of the European Tour and their input will continue to be important as the Final Series evolves and moves forward, details of which the chief executive George O'Grady will look to unveil on the final Sunday of this year's DP World Tour Championship.
"The current Race to Dubai is building to a thrilling conclusion and with two huge prize funds still to contest, there are over 60 players still with the opportunity of finishing No1 for the 2013 season.
"Top-five finishes from Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose last week in China saw them all close the gap on Henrik Stenson and we now look ahead to the penultimate tournament of the Final Series this week in Turkey and the season finale next week in Dubai."
In basic terms, the European Tour has to be proactive to fight the continuing talent drain caused by players moving to the United States. Part-replication of the PGA Tour's FedEx series is at least a start in that regard.
The $30m (£19m) on offer in prize monies throughout China, Turkey and Dubai should be a pretty strong incentive to any player. The Tour has had to move away from traditional venues such as Spain because of economic circumstances; it has not only done that, but to impressive financial effect.
The European Tour also needs at least some guarantee of player appearances before any tournament can be properly marketed. If scheduling was left completely loose, with the key attractions such as Poulter and Rory McIlroy able to turn up on a whim, sponsors would cite uncertainty as a reason not to be involved.
Golfers are not exempt from the burn-out that impedes other sportspeople. Tiger Woods, who will play for a considerable appearance fee in Turkey this week, hinted at concerns over playing pressures at the culmination of the FedEx series.
O'Grady's Dubai address will be intriguing, not only in the sense of what further amendments are made to his Tour's schedule for 2014, but in how the chief executive responds to discord such as that so vehemently stated by Els.