Lee Westwood chooses NOT to be PGA Tour member in 2011

[sean_miller]

I think everyone got that one sean :D

Don't underestimate the "US Americans*".

* Search for that exact term in youtube.

[RichF]

Possibility of getting to the #1 sport by winning one tournament and coming 2nd in a bunch of others.

Has this ever been done before?

[jamo]

I'd put Westwood over Donald, Casey and McDowell winning a major. Westwood has got a really good game, he's a consistently good player. His tendency has been to lose tournaments on the last stretch, but he's been close for a while now, and playing well in the Ryder Cup give a confidence boost.

He faded down the stretch in the Ryder Cup too don't forget. I just don't think Westwood has what it takes to win a major, or at least not immediately. I can't say I'd take Donald or McDowell over him right now, but (out of Europeans) I think McIlroy, Casey, and Kaymer (again), have a better chance at winning a major in 2011.

[Acropo]

Well, what a completely overrated hacker Westwood obviously is.

I mean, how DARE he turn down the PGA Tour? How much has he earned on the European Tour after all - a measley €1,822,738 - I mean, what's that in REAL money?

$2,537,615.84. Not even as much as Rory McIlroy - although, to be fair, that excludes any winnings from the PGA Tour itself.

And why does he turn it down? Because he wants to spend the summer holidays with his kids. He wants to stay with his family and close to home. The indication is - he doesn't need another $2 million. What is he talking about? What a wimp!

What has he done to be so hoity-toity? Won 32 tournaments across the world, 20 on the European Tour, including the Dubai World Championship, which gave him the 2009 Race to Dubai - so what? So he came back from 250 in the world to be number 2. Is Lazarus supposed to be worried about losing his crown as the comeback king?

And if he gets to be number one - well, how dare he assume that title? He may have won two more tournaments in the last 12 months than the current no1, and the guy he just passed to no. 2 may have had to play out of his skin to beat him at the Masters - but hey, are supposed to be impressed?

Huh!

...

Love the taste of those sour grapes, guys.

[Hollister]

Thanks guys, very entertaining :D

Ever wondered why it is the "Official World Golf Ranking"? If you like a different perspective, just look at US players only. Or european players , or other tours.

Then you might think about how much tournament wins contribute to the OWG ranking. Could it be that wins on US soil have a higher contribution to a players ranking?

My conclusion is, that Westwood, Kaymer and a few others do really perform well gathering enough points elsewhere to climb the ranking that far. They earned their place in the current OWGR under the current rules.

BTW, can someone explain why the top notch US stars ignore interesting tourneys in Europe like this weeks Dunhill Cup played at Old Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns? Right, it is in Europe. Might an european or asian player have the same attitude towards The McGladrey Classic? Looks like it.

[RichF]

BTW, can someone explain why the top notch US stars ignore interesting tourneys in Europe like this weeks Dunhill Cup played at Old Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns? Right, it is in Europe.

Scottish links course in

October ? US players have their fill of links golf in July...and the weather is pretty bad then.

[shades9323]

Well, what a completely overrated hacker Westwood obviously is.

I don't see any sour grapes.

Good for him wanting to spend more time with his family. Plus his Euro PGA record is much better than his US PGA tour record. He has won twice on the PGA tour in the last 12 years. He has won 18 times on the Euro tour in that same time frame. I would play where I could win more tournaments too. McIlroy is cutting down on his U.S. appearances too. McDowell will get his card and compete with the best.

[Lemay427]

Don't underestimate the "US Americans*".

LOL that girl is awesome

[iacas]

Then you might think about how much tournament wins contribute to the OWG ranking. Could it be that wins on US soil have a higher contribution to a players ranking?

Actually, you can earn quite a lot of points playing in some pretty bizarre non-PGA Tour events that give players far more points than they should get due to some weird rules built in. I forget the specifics, but I know some piddly little events - more so on the smaller tours, but a little bit on the Euro tour - that get rewarded with more OWGR points than makes sense.

Lee's played well in some majors, so that may not really apply to him.

[Acropo]

I don't see any sour grapes.

In that case, I don't think you have read the entire thread.

"Good, Westwood has the personality of a wet carrot anyways. He doesn´t move the needle." - LongballGer "my prediction for Westwood in 2011? He will drop in rankings quite a bit. he'll be the next Vijay Singh before even reaching the #1 spot." - golfpro "I don't know why, but I don't really like Westwood. I can't say I hope he drops in the rankings, but I won't be disappointed if he did." - jamo "...not sure what it is... he just seems like the 'flavor of the week' when he plays well. his game just seems to leave me a bit unimpressed." - golfpro "He faded down the stretch in the Ryder Cup too don't forget. I just don't think Westwood has what it takes to win a major, or at least not immediately." - jamo That's just the more obvious ones, on this particular thread.

Plus his Euro PGA record is much better than his US PGA tour record. He has won twice on the PGA tour in the last 12 years. He has won 18 times on the Euro tour in that same time frame. I would play where I could win more tournaments too.

That gets close, too.

McDowell will get his card and compete with the best.

Not Lee Westwood, though.

You are aware, I trust, that Westwood has never been a member of the PGA Tour? He has played selected tournaments off and on, normally in the run-up to a Major. He has won more tournaments than the majority of the PGA Tour members (most don't win any) as an occasional guest, top 50 OGWR entrant, sponsor's invitee or whatever. He has won three times in the last 12 months, including the St Jude Classic - the paycheck(!) for that alone takes his season's winnings to over $3.5 million. He has played 11 events on the PGA Tour this year - the majority of them were Majors/WGC events (which count for both European and PGA Tour) and without being a member, he has won just under $3.4 million - and he was unable to play the PGA and had to withdraw from the Bridgestone. That $3.4 million, from a great deal less than a full season, would put him 12th on the Tour moneylist. Imagine what he would have done if he'd been fit... btw - we aren't talking about THIS Lee Westwood... www.lee-westwood.com

[Acropo]

Actually, you can earn quite a lot of points playing in some pretty bizarre non-PGA Tour events that give players far more points than they should get due to some weird rules built in. I forget the specifics, but I know some piddly little events - more so on the smaller tours, but a little bit on the Euro tour - that get rewarded with more OWGR points than makes sense.

Erik, there was a big hoo-hah and trumpeting made earlier this year that the PGA Tour 'leads the world' in terms of OGWR points, pretty much week-in, week-out. On the European Tour, the only event that has a higher OGWR ranking than a run-of-the-mill PGA Tour event is the BMW Championship at Wentworth - aka the British PGA Championship.

There is a formula that includes prizemoney and the quality of the field - but somehow, the Greater Northern Somethingorother on the PGA Tour, with no-one in the world's top 20, ends up with a higher ranking than, say, the Dubai Desert Classic or Dubai World Championship, which is awash with world-class players. If there is any lack of balance then it looks to me (and I'm not alone) to be towards the PGA Tour, rather than 'piddly events'.

[shades9323]

In that case, I don't think you have read the entire thread.

I agree that those would be sour grapes if Westwood had done anything in tournaments on U.S. soil. The St. Jude classic only had 1 other top 10 player in it. It featured a bunch of b-listers. In full field events he hasn't won.

I am not saying he isn't good. He is a great player.

[ghalfaire]

I guess I think the guy has his priorities right. No one goes to the grave thinking they wishing they had spent more time in the office. But some, in hindsight, wish they had spent more time with their families even if careers might have suffered some. End of preaching.

[lonewolf]

Yes, it literally is on the right side of the Atlantic.

Depnds on which direction you are facing :))

Now that the Ryder cup is over I like Westwood and Clarke. Good for LW, he can stay home more; make money playing golf; get taxed a little/lot more-but so what.

[iacas]

Erik, there was a big hoo-hah and trumpeting made earlier this year that the PGA Tour 'leads the world' in terms of OGWR points, pretty much week-in, week-out. On the European Tour, the only event that has a higher OGWR ranking than a run-of-the-mill PGA Tour event is the BMW Championship at Wentworth - aka the British PGA Championship.

I didn't hear that hoo-hah. Who said it? Someone on your side of the pond?

Additionally, if the PGA Tour stops generally attract the better players, they should have more points. That doesn't mean they're still imbalanced. Asian PGA Tour events that have 1/2 the OWGR points of a big event on the PGA Tour would likely be out of balance, just as many Euro Tour stops that have 75% of the points of a typical PGA Tour stop may very well be unbalanced.

There is a formula that includes prizemoney and the quality of the field - but somehow, the Greater Northern Somethingorother on the PGA Tour, with no-one in the world's top 20, ends up with a higher ranking than, say, the Dubai Desert Classic or Dubai World Championship, which is awash with world-class players. If there is any lack of balance then it looks to me (and I'm not alone) to be towards the PGA Tour, rather than 'piddly events'.

http://thegolfnewsnet.com/docs/OWGRB...ngee031209.pdf Page three, the paragraph that starts with "This kind of thing..." is the key bit. It's more of a factor on the Asian Tour but still affects the European Tour. You can read above for the explanation and keep reading below to find out other ways in which the PGA Tour is devalued a bit. Here's the money quote from page five:

Source: Page 5 of PDF cited above Basically, the way that the European, Asian, and Australasian PGA Tours structure their season all work against the PGA Tour and American players.

This PDF talks about the things I've heard about and read about in other places. Do I really care much? No. Do I think Lee Westwood is the #1 golfer in the world? Dude hasn't won a major and has barely won on the PGA Tour, so no. This article's more about the guys outside the top three or five or so anyway (and as such, is somewhat off topic, I suppose - my fault).

[Acropo]

I didn't hear that hoo-hah. Who said it? Someone on your side of the pond?

No, it was US publications. The only article I am now able to find is

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...884083,00.html Other pieces missed out a lot of the qualification in the above piece.

Thanks for the link - it's interesting and I can't disagree with it. No system will be absolutely perfect but I think the OGWR work out generally OK for the top 40 and maybe, at a push, for the top 50. Beyond that, I take your point.

Quote from the article I linked to, from Anthony Kim - "...No disrespect to those tours, but the 70th and 80th guys on our tour are really good. If they would go overseas more, they would have more success than some of the guys ranked ahead of them." Which means the answer is right there - go overseas more. From the narrative itself: "Few would argue that the PGA Tour has the strongest and deepest fields. ...It is rewarded by receiving more ranking points than Europe over the course of the year (my emphasis), and far more than the South African, Japan, Asian and Australasian tours." The phrase in brackets is part of the point I seek to make - that some (not by any means all) PGA Tour events get unjustified higher rankings than some European Tour events, which have higher-class fields. I would say Westwood's performance over the past year/18 months has been pretty good. Three top-10s in the Majors; three victories, one on US soil; a career that is now getting quite long and has an equally long record of excellence, with 30 victories worldwide - 20 on the European Tour. I made the point that, in events that ranked for the PGA Tour this year, he has achieved results that would put him 12th on the moneylist - from just 11 events. That's pretty good, consistent play, imho.

[PiustheDrGolf]

This makes me think about PGA.

I remember there was an interview with Angel Cabrera after he won US Open.. and Angel mentioned that he like European tour better than PGA Tour. Here is the quote"

Q: Last year in Cordoba you told me that you felt more comfortable playing in Europe than in the United States because of the coterie of Argentine ex-pats you hung out with there who helped you combat your homesickness. Have you started to adapt better to life on the PGA Tour this year? A: Nothing has really changed. I'm playing here now because it's almost an obligation to play here. But the truth is, I felt much more comfortable playing in Europe than here. Here, I'm alone. I go out alone. I play alone. Over there, people were generally friendlier, warmer. And I had seven or eight Argentinean friends on the tour to hang out with. But I made the decision at the beginning of the year to play more on the PGA Tour. I'm trying it for a year. At the end of the year I'll see if I continue or leave. I'll stay if I can adapt and feel comfortable. If not I'll go back to Europe.

Read more: http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1737856-3,00.html#ixzz11hUzQw4w"

I once heard that locker room atmosphere is totally different. European Tour is more like your own country club locker rooms after a round of unofficial member's tournament. But PGA Tour is more like PAT, which don't need to care for other players . If that's true, his choice is obvious.

[Kazuhiro]

Quote from the article I linked to, from Anthony Kim - "...No disrespect to those tours, but the 70th and 80th guys on our tour are really good. If they would go overseas more, they would have more success than some of the guys ranked ahead of them."

Kim has a point; I big follower & believer of golf in Asia obviously and support all our player, but for example in Japan, likes of Hiroyuki Fujita who 71st in the World; would probably struggle to keep card if played on PGA TOUR (Top 125) yet theres player son PGA Tour and things Money List/FedEx Cup Ranked as high as 30th/40th ranked far far lower than him World Ranking wise.

---------------------------------------------- About comment with Lee Westwood's personality, oh my I agree! I do think hes a good player and deserves to probably be in top 10 (Number 1, debatable!) but he personality is really bad, so boring in interviews etc, can send you to sleep!