European Tour makes big changes to membership requirements, Race to Dubai
In an effort to maintain the loyalty of his top players who straddle two or more continents, European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley announced Tuesday a big shake up in the requirements to remain a member of the tour.
Starting with next season, which begins in two weeks in South Africa, players will only be required to play in five non-major, non-World Golf Championships events to maintain membership. That's a change from the current membership rules, which require a player to compete in 13 European Tour-sanctioned events, including the four majors and four WGCs.
In other words, Pelley has stripped out co-sanctioned tournaments from membership requirements, simplifying things for European stars who play the bulk of their golf on the PGA Tour. Not only is this important for top-tier players who have relocated to the United States, but it is also critical for players on the fringes of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, who cannot necessarily count on getting into all eight events between the majors and WGCs.
The membership requirement change is not only critical in maintaining the support of U.S.-based European Tour members. It's also crucial for European-born players to have an easier time in maintaining European Tour membership, which is a prerequisite for representing the continent in the Ryder Cup.
"This, I believe, will allow our players to schedule more efficiently, schedule at the beginning of the year, so they know exactly how they are going to maintain their membership," Pelley said Tuesday in Dubai, specifically citing Ian Poulter's mad dash from Orlando to Hong Kong to save his membership as a reason to simplify the requirements.
Meanwhile, Pelley has also shortened the Tour's Final Series as part of its season-long Race to Dubai points list. The WGC-HSBC Champions will no longer be part of the formerly four-event final series, and the Nedbank Golf Challenge -- which will expand to 72 players from 30 -- will replaced the defunct BMW Masters in the now three-event series, sandwiched by the Turkish Airlines Open and season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Pelley, who stepped into the role this summer previously held by George O'Grady, believes these changes are the first in a set geared toward making his circuit more competitive with the PGA Tour for the next generation of professionals.
"We need to provide a viable alternative to the PGA Tour for our elite, medium and low-ranked players," he said. "End of story. We need to be more too important to be dismissed, too important to be dismissed from our sponsors, from our stakeholders from our players."
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
