Anyone else feel uncomfortable about the fact an event featuring just 30 players in South Africa this week could have a large bearing on Europe’s Ryder Cup team?
The Nedbank Golf Challenge has gone through various guises over the years. Back in the day it offered the first million dollar purse, while in 2000 Ernie Els won $2million.
This year’s format not only retains its ‘nice work if you can get it’ feel but, rather more disturbingly, offers a fast-track to Gleneagles next September.
How can it be right, for example, that any European who finishes third against such limited numbers will earn almost as many Ryder Cup points as the man who wins the Dubai Desert Classic in January against a full field led by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy?
Adding to the alarm is the fact most of the stars like the aforementioned pair are competing in Tiger’s invitation event in Los Angeles, the World Challenge, which also starts on Thursday.
Yet, on offer are an almost identical amount of Ryder Cup points as the winner will receive for claiming the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW Championship, at Wentworth next May.
Imagine if the Dane Morten Orum Madsen continues his hot South African streak and wins to claim a total of 795,338 points?
He would leap from 34th place on the European points list all the way into the top four who qualify for the Ryder Cup team.
For players who have started the qualifying process well, like Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Joost Luiten, Thomas Bjorn and Francesco Molinari, here’s an opportunity, therefore, that comes gift-wrapped in gold.
Of course it all might work out well for captain Paul McGinley. If Justin Rose or Luke Donald win this week he will be doing cartwheels at them making such significant progress towards qualifying.
But it’s hard to see how any of these scenarios can be viewed as equitable, or anything other than an undeserved shortcut.
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