Order of Merit Race...Sort Of

I talked last week about how the money list just doesn't seem to be all that relevant anymore. Well, Mike Aitken over at the Scotsman had some thoughts on the subject relating specifically to the Euro Tour. (See, I'm a trendsetter. Sure you are, Ryan.) Aitken does note that Ernie Els does not seem to care about winning the Order of Merit.

Els recently signed a contract to play in the Singapore Open and freely admits the honour of the Vardon Trophy (which he won in 2003 and 2004) won't prevent him, at this time of the year, "getting the wheelbarrow out" to cash in on his global reputation.

But, he also notes that the Order of Merit will be on the line in the final few weeks of the Euro Tour season between Paddy Harrington and Justin Rose.

[T]he stage is set for another dramatic end to the season at Valderrama in a couple of weeks when Harrington, the winner of the Order of Merit a year ago, and Rose will go head to head. In 2006, when Paul Casey looked favourite to win the Vardon Trophy, the Irishman took advantage of a slip-up from Sergio Garcia on the last hole to finish second behind Jeev Singh and snatch the honour away from the Englishman.

Looking at the Euro Tour's website, though, Harrington and Rose have played in 14 and 11 Euro Tour events respectively. That's even fewer than Woods and Mickelson on the PGA Tour...until you consider that those guys play over here, too, and Woods and Mickelson do not reciprocate. Of Paddy's 14 starts, half are recognized by both the PGA and Euro Tours (WGC and majors). For Rose, 6 of 11 match that category.

Maybe the Euro Tour could use their own FedEx Cup?