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Wentworth on Course to Be Augusta of Europe
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Written by Donald D. Ernst   
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
TWO years ago, the overriding feeling on the eve of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was embarrassment at the absence of then Open champion Padraig Harrington. All too often, previous such occasions were dominated by recriminations at the absence of leading Americans.

What a contrast this time. This year the overwhelming mood is celebratory following a players' awards dinner on Tuesday night that was a stirring reminder of how far the European Tour has come.

I was lucky enough to sit next to world No 1 Lee Westwood and his wife Laurae as all four major champions and loyal members of the tour — Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel — were presented on stage. 'Who would have thought we'd see this day?' said a proud Laurae. 'It really shows the giant steps forward the tour has made.' Ernie Els believes progress has been so dramatic this event is now bigger than the American equivalent, the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

'It's got a stronger field and is a more classic course,' argued Els, who has a home on the Wentworth estate and was responsible for overseeing changes to the layout.

'I want this to feel like the Augusta of the European Tour and we can do that. We've got the trees, a great layout and we just want to keep making it better.'

US Open champion McDowell is another revelling in the feelgood factor. 'You could sense in the room the excitement at what's happening on tour,' he said.

'We had a few tough years as the financial crisis hit everyone but we are in such a strong position now, and the guys are supporting the tour as well. We've seen a lot of the big names (Westwood, Kaymer and Rory McIlroy, to name but three) nail their colours to the mast and opt to stay in Europe rather than defect to America.'

Even 'defectors', like world No 2 Luke Donald and last week's matchplay winner Ian Poulter, who stayed away for a couple of years, are keen to play their part.

Now the stellar field includes six of the world's top seven. Now, instead of looking wistfully across the Atlantic and wondering how to persuade the Americans to come, the feeling is more like: their loss.

The awards dinner used to recognise winners of every European Tour event during the previous season. No time for that on Tuesday, not with major winners to parade and a victorious Ryder Cup team.

The highlight of the evening, though, was a speech from Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal honouring his dear friend Seve Ballesteros.

'I certainly want to be part of Ollie's team next year, he's a very special man,' said McDowell, and it was hard to imagine any player listening to Ollie's moving words could have felt any differently.

On to what promises to be a memorable week, where the race to be world No 1 has now become so tight that if Westwood and Donald both finish in the top 45, then the higher placed man will stand at the summit, provided No 3 Martin Kaymer finishes worse than second.

Donald admitted it took him a couple of days to get over Sunday's loss to Poulter in the matchplay final. He had a similar close shave here last year and confessed that some of the joy of a run of 13 top-10 finishes in his past 14 events was tempered by managing just one win.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 21 December 2011 )