Golfer Lee Westwood recently said that the European Tour "has to consult its top players and work with the PGA Tour to stay viable," according to Alistair Tait of GOLFWEEK. Westwood, who is from the U.K., said that there "aren’t enough clusters of tournaments to attract Europe’s top stars to stay in Europe." This week’s BMW PGA Championship is the "only European Tour event in England this year," while 10 years ago there were five. There are more tournaments "outside Europe this year than there are in Europe, 26 versus 20." South Africa has "six tournaments alone." Westwood wants to see European Tour CEO George O’Grady "consult more with Europe’s top players when he sets the schedule." Westwood: "There’s got to be more dialogue between the top players or the players that play elsewhere and the European Tour. There’s no point in putting big tournaments on when the top players can’t attend." He added, “You don’t sell your tournaments on a person that’s 110th on the money list. You sell your tournament to sponsors on being able to attract top-50 players. So you’ve got to discuss the scheduling with those players. It makes sense.” Westwood "wants to see Europe do more to attract and keep its star players in Europe." He said that the "key is more big events in a row and working with the PGA Tour" (GOLFWEEK.com, 5/22).
