Ryder Cup points are up for grabs with all the Europeans hoping for a fast start on this race
The Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre takes place this week on the DP World Tour - a favourite venue for so many players and fans. - Supplied photo
Now that the Tour Championship is behind us, the PGA Tour is taking a week off.
While the tournament may not have delivered the dramatic finish everyone was hoping for, that’s often how tournament golf goes. It’s important to let the players play and let the results unfold naturally.
Trying to engineer drama with adjusted handicaps, especially for the top players, doesn’t always work out. Sometimes, you just have to appreciate and congratulate the winner for a fantastic season. Well played Scottie Scheffler!
The FedEx Cup has had a number of tweaks over the years – with the PGA Tour have another look at the format?
This is the case on the DP World Tour and it seems inevitable that Rory McIlroy has almost certainly already won the 2024 Race to Dubai – and well played to him.
But maybe there could be a twist in the tail that I am not seeing. Rory has committed to playing a strong end to the DP World Tour season – which can only be good for us global golf fans. When Rory is in the field it is a must-watch on TV for so many of us.
This week sees one of the long-standing tournaments on the DP World Tour – the OMEGA European Masters. It has a history dating back to 1905 at a venue established in 1923.
With the FedEx Cup now over it is exciting to see some of the returning players to the DP World Tour. This week the following players will be competing: Erik Van Rooyen (RSA), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng), Francesco Molinari (It), Nicolai Hojgaard (Den) as well as the usual characters from the DP World Tour.
I could not find defending champion Ludvig Aberg (Swe) in the list of entries – perhaps I missed him.
I am always disappointed when players do not defend a title – we will give him the benefit of the doubt that he has a good reason – or I have missed him!
Ryder Cup points are up for grabs, Week Two – with all the Europeans hoping for a fast start on this race.
The Ladies European Tour (LET) takes a week’s break before next week’s Solheim Cup – a highlight of ladies’ professional golf – this year to be held in the US. We will review that next week.
Schedule
DP World Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th September, 2024
OMEGA European Masters
Venue: Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
Purse: $3.25 million
Challenge Tour
Thursday 5th – Sunday 8th September, 2024
Big Green Egg German Challenge
Venue: Wittelsbacher Golfclub, Germany
Purse: €270k