The way I see it Ernie is very good for the game of golf. Ernie even setting foot on U.S. soil is a Godsend to us and to the game itself. If I were Ernie I'd politely tell the PGA "Thanks but no thanks I'll play , ahem, Els-where next year."
That is just rediculous. Ernie is a world class player, and should be treated as such. He should be allowed to play as he chooses, given that he plays in 15 PGA events. Hopefully the PGA will come around before they lose big time.
"Since 1997, Els has competed in 141 PGA Tour events. Tiger Woods has played 155 . And while tournament directors are left looking for other draws and other star appeal when Tiger doesn’t show, you’d have to believe they don’t want chances of landing Ernie diminished."
Looks to me like they need to be sending a letter to "home boy" on his yacht and leave Ernie alone.
I must interject. It is wrong that the PGA TOUR try to enforce anything other than the regulations that the players agree to when they join. Note that the PGA TOUR is doing this, not the organization I belong to which is the PGA of America aka the PGA. While most know what people are talking about, it is very important to distinguish the two organizations. Those four little letters T-O-U-R are very important. Just as the PGA of America is run by its members, so to an extent is the PGA Tour. Now it is up to the Player Board to step in and do what is right here.
I think it is a backhanded way to attempt to create a rivalry among the top 3 or 4 in the world for the #1 WGR position.
There's no reason Ernie should have to play more on US soil. He plays here enough as it is, and if he wants to play around the world to share his talents with everyone, so be it. Shame on the PGA Tour for trying to strong arm him into playing so many events it might wear him out. I wouldn't blame him at all if he told them to kiss his you-know-what and that he wouldn't be renewing his membership next year. He could still play all the important events (majors, WGCs, plus 7 sponsors exemptions which he's be sure to get if he wanted) without the headache of them bothering him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DR.billZ
Looks to me like they need to be sending a letter to "home boy" on his yacht and leave Ernie alone.
Tiger has threatened to leave the Tour over something as simple as his caddy not being allowed to wear shorts in an exhibition match, I think he'd be none too pleased with them trying to force him to play more either.
From what we can see, Ernie is only required to play 15 events on the PGA Tour. That's it. What he does after that is beyond the scope of the Tour and they cannot win a case if that is all that is required. I hope this does not push Ernie to leave the Tour here altogether. I look forward to watching him play the most. If I could have his swing....
StLCard25: what I was getting at is if Ernie can play here nearly the same number of times Tiger does and with Tiger being U.S.-born and raised and his primary residence being here it seems a bit odd they should be bothering a real African about the time he spends in the U.S. playing. I'de be bugging the heck out of the local talent that doesn't have much of an excuse for not showing for more tournaments.
That just seems odd. Maybe I'm nuts but it seems like a no-brainer to me
That's true. I don't think they have the right to be bugging anyone to play more tourneys. It's their own life and the PGA Tour doesn't own them so who are they to say that they have to play more? Of course I'd like to see Tiger and Ernie and Phil and Vijay playing every event and battling it out, but the top guys anymore have a lot of non-golfing commitments and they're financially set for life pretty much so I can understand if they don't want to play every week.
The problem is in the PGA Tour rules which don't include the SA Tour in the exemption it gives members of the European tour. If Ernie declared the European tour as his home organization, this issue would be moot.
However, if they make an "exception" for Ernie, they think people from other tours will expect the same priveleges. I have to believe SOMEONE made an issue of this because Ernie has been in violation of Tour Rules for years and nobody said a word.
I believe the PGA Tour has a membership clause against playing in events that conflict with a PGA Tour event without prior approval. I'm not sticking up for the PGA Tour but.....if there are no rules to determine how many tournaments you have to play, or guidelines for playing in events that conflict with a PGA Tour event, how would the PGA Tour survive? All the big names would just play the majors and the very cream of the crop of the rest of the events. You'd rarely, if ever, see a top name in the second tier tournaments if the PGA Tour didn't limit their ability to go in search of the "appearance fee" dollars abroad.
It's a double-edged sword. The average players need the PGA Tour, and the PGA Tour needs it's stars. How long would the pros be playing for 5-6 million dollar purses if the stars are regularly off playing in Indonesia somewhere for huge appearance fees?
LG, the Tour allows a player 3 (I believe) "outside the Tour" tournaments for 15 PGA tour events. For each additional "away game" the player must play 5 more PGA events. That rule does not apply to those who declare their home tour as the "European" tour, hence Sergio can play as many events in Europe as he wants while maintaining his US tour membership by playing at least the minimum 15 times.
Ernie, however, has always declared the SA tour as his home tour and neither SA nor any of the other mini-tours are included in the exemption that applies to European tour members.
But, as I said, this has been true for years. Why is it suddenly being enforced? Have to believe someone somewhere has made an issue of it or there are other players who are in violation (some of the Australian tour members, perhaps) and they can't go after them without resolving the Els issue.
Will be interesting to see how it plays out but IMO they are messing with the wrong guy.
I can see both sides of the issue. As LG mentioned, the PGA Tour depends on its stars. All you have to do is look at the ratings of tournaments without players such as Tiger, Ernie, Phil and Vijay entered in them. The PGA Tour merely wants to protect its own Tour. On the other hand, you would think Ernie should be able to play the events he wants, especially if someone is going to hand him a huge appearance fee just for showing up.
Here is the thing that I just don't understand. Ernie is exempt till 2007 becuase of his 1997 US Open win. Ernie Els is also # 2 or 3 on the US money list. Like there is no way that they could do that to him. Also here's a little message from www.ErnieEls.com --
That’s about the most golf I think I’ve ever played in a week, a total of nine rounds in five days amazingly, so I’m relieved to be able to take a few days to relax. My legs need the rest! My next tournament is the Chrysler Championship in Florida next week, so until then I’m just going to enjoy some time off around the house.
Just to reflect on one of the stories from last week, which you may have seen in the newspapers here in England and over in the States, about how many tournaments I play in the States compared to other places around the world. I don’t think this is the right time to add to my initial comments. As you will have gathered, I was very disappointed with the nature of the original letter. But I don’t want to say anything else until after I’ve had a chance to speak to the guys at the PGA Tour. Obviously I’ll keep you posted on developments here at ernieels.com.
That’s it for now. I’ll write my next update on Monday, so be sure to pay another visit.
--Ernie Els
It was some good timing though for the PGA Tour. The week after he wins The World Match Play Championship and the week before he plays on the PGA Tour.
October 19th, 2004, 11:10 AM
. And while tournament directors are left looking for other draws and other star appeal when Tiger doesn’t show, you’d have to believe they don’t want chances of landing Ernie diminished."
does and with Tiger 
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