The Numbers Don't Lie

Doug Ferguson's weekly notes ended with this interesting tidbit: "STAT OF THE WEEK: More world ranking points were available last week at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on the European Tour than the Bob Hope Classic on the PGA Tour." Although the formula behind the Official World Golf Ranking is a bit convoluted, this is just another sign of the increasing prominence of the European Tour. Of course, the Gulf Swing on the Euro Tour does tend to attract the most consistent string of quality fields for the entire Euro Tour season.

But, it's increasingly easier for the EuroTour to get solid PGA Tour regulars in their fields. Cap'n Tom Lehman opted to play in the Italian Open over the PGA Tour event that week, just one week before the PLAYERS. Perhaps the motivator is that the style of play and types of course architecture featured on the EuroTour are just more unique and interesting than those found on the PGA Tour. Who knows, but maybe we really are getting closer to a truly viable global professional tour.