European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said that the bulldozers "will arrive at Wentworth next month as organizers begin their bid to restore the BMW PGA Championship venue to its former glory," according to Tony Jimenez of REUTERS. The layout on the outskirts of London "was originally designed by Harry Colt in 1926 but has undergone a complete facelift from four-times major champion Ernie Els in the last decade." The changes "have not met with unanimous approval and top players such as Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington chose to give the tour's flagship event a miss this year for a variety of reasons." Pelley: "There are a number of players that aren't here because they don't want to play this golf course. I'm confident ...that what (owners) Reignwood have planned will bring this back to the Harry Colt design and the Harry Colt magic that once made this the place where players want to play." Pelley also hinted that the prize fund of €5M ($5.6M), lower than the purse of $6.7M available at the middle-ranking U.S. Tour event being held in Texas this week, "was another issue with some of his members." He said,
"On the U.S. Tour they are playing for $6.5 to $7.5 million every week and for our young players that is a great opportunity to make significant dollars" (REUTERS, 5/29).
'PREMIUM' EVENT: SKY SPORTS' Keith Jackson reported Pelley insisted the tournament remains a "premium" event on the European Tour schedule, and he denied reports that the event "could be moved away from Wentworth in the near future." He said, "Wentworth is majestic and has an aura about it that is simply astounding. And when you drive up and see the magical building, you quickly become inspired, so we have every intention to be at Wentworth for a long period of time. This is the home of the BMW PGA Championship. But we have to significantly improve the golf course, and that is a critical component to it." Pelley also hinted that "another tournament in Great Britain could be added to the schedule following the success of the return of the British Masters supported by Sky Sports at Woburn last fall" (SKY SPORTS, 5/29).
MAJOR CHANGES: HERALD SCOTLAND's Nick Rodger wrote Wentworth's new Chinese owners, Reignwood, "promised to make major changes to the West Course," with new greens and a return to Colt's design. Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell welcomed the tour’s statement of intent and hopes the championship "can be galvanised." He said, "Listen, this is such a special event and you only have to look at how many people come here to watch. I don’t think I could pull a crowd that big in Ireland. Let’s just get the course right, get the greens right, get the big players back here and get the Americans over" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 5/29).
