The European Tour is to undergo "major changes" after CEO Keith Pelley vowed to make it a "viable alternative" to the PGA Tour within three to five years, according to Sarah Ebner of the LONDON TIMES. Pelley also demanded that the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth should live up to its billing by offering more prize money than its current "unacceptable" €5M ($5.3M). Pelley confirmed that the Final Series would be reduced from four events to three next year, after the loss of the BMW Masters, but "also promised" to increase prize funds, lead the fight against slow play and adopt a "players-first" philosophy. Pelley: "We need to provide a viable alternative to the PGA Tour for our elite, medium and low-ranked players. End of story. We need to be too important to be dismissed from our sponsors, from our stakeholders, from our players. And that means we are going to have to increase our prize purses. That won't happen overnight." Pelley did not "mince his words" when talking about Wentworth, suggesting that it was not presently a "flagship" event, and that its importance depended on course development (LONDON TIMES, 11/17).
