Between sponsors and the audience

SIMPLY GOLF

The name of the game is star appeal. People who attend golf events or switch on the TV for some action always unfailingly look for big names. Little wonder then that the mightiest of all Tours "" the US PGA "" has started putting pressure on its big stars.

Absence of star players can hit any Tour adversely. And if the US Tour has problems, imagine what the situation would be in other Tours. While Japan usually manages to retain most of its stars for the entire season, barring players like Shigeki Maruyama, others barely manage a few weeks.

Australia gets its stars for a few big events. So does South Africa, where players like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen remain committed to their home tour.

In India, however, most of the stars like Jyoti Randhawa, Arjun Atwal and Jeev Milkha Singh hardly play on the home turf. They are usually competing in the US, Europe, Japan or the Asian circuit, where the prize money is not just good but also offers better chance of entering the bigger Tours.

This trend will soon engulf many of the current stars like Ashok Kumar and Shiv Kapur as they make their mark on international Tours. Already, second rung players like Harmeet Kahlon, Amandeep Johl, Rahil Gangjee and Arjun Singh have reduced their commitment in India.

Maybe the solution lies in working out a reasonable schedule that enables the stars to play a few big events in India. An event that not just covers Rs 15 lakh to Rs 25 lakh prize, but also that offers free tickets and appearance money by way of incentive.

This is a practice followed the world over and there is no reason why it can't be done here.

Coming back to the US Tour, putting pressure on a Tiger Woods may not be possible because he is simply bigger than the Tour in terms of commercial and public appeal.

Meanhwile, the US PGA Tour has no problems with Vijay Singh, who anyway plays the most among the top stars. But let's admit it, While he is a great role model, he is not the crowd's favourite boy.

Recently, Ernie Els, one of the biggest crowd pullers apart from Tiger, received a letter from US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, asking him to show "greater commitment to the US Tour". Els was the winner of the Money List last year and is leading this year again.

Els plays an average of 15 events in the US and an equal number in Europe every year. Some of these events are held outside Europe. But now it seems Finchem wants Els to take permission to play outside the country.

Els, who obviously felt needled, hasn't said anything about boycotting the US Tour but he has made it amply clear that he will not be 'padlocked' to it. Speaking to the media, he said "They (US PGA) need to understand that the golfing world has changed... There is a world outside of America and I am part of it."

Els has a US tour card, and which is probably why Finchem wants him to ask for permission to play in tournaments outside the US. "As far as I am concerned," said Els, "I play enough tournaments in the US. I play more than 15 over there."

Everyone knows that Els is popular on both sides of the Atlantic and greater accessibility to him than Tiger makes him a big draw. Both the crowd and sponsors will feel happier to see Els in the field.

Els, however, has made it clear that he cannot be pushed around. But his popularity is surely coming in the way of choosing the schedule he wants.