Format a Major drawback for Dell Match Play

This week’s Dell Match Play is one of four World Golf Championship events, which should make it among the top-eight golf tournaments in the world alongside the four major championships, and yet, some of the leading players have decided not to play.

Among those who have pulled out are proven match play experts Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler, and also world No. 8 Adam Scott, who seems to struggle a bit with the format.

The fact that players are willing to skip tournaments that carry humongous prize money and loads of world ranking points, actually highlights the importance that is attached to the majors.

Most players have cited scheduling as their main reason for pulling out of the match play. Of course, the fact that the tournament has a different format from what we play all year does not help matters much.

A majority of players like to play the week before a major, which means the week prior to that is a strict no-no. And then there was the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, which is again a tournament most leading pros like to attend. Not many of us would want to play two or three weeks continuously and arrive for a major tired and jaded.

The PGA Tour must look at moving the tournament somewhere between the Masters and the US Open, because I do think the match play is a very special event. And while dividing the field into 16 groups for round robin matches is a good idea to ensure that the stars are not knocked out on the first day itself, it has its cons. Foremost among them is that this is no longer match play in its truest sense.

Meanwhile, there was a very welcoming announcement of the Asian Tour entering into a strategic partnership with the China Golf Association (CGA). This will be amazing for golf in the region going forward.

As most of you would know, the Asian Tour had a fall-out with Chinese authorities a few years ago, and they decided to back the rival OneAsia Tour. This led to the unwanted situation where the Asian Tour was functioning without the support of its biggest and richest country.

Under the new collaboration, Asian Tour players will get to play four tournaments in China and Chinese golfers will feature more on the other Asian Tour events. This is not only a good thing for the Asian Tour but it will also benefit the golf scene in China. I am sure golf in the region will grow stronger from this partnership, especially with the increased playing opportunities for players.

I have fond memories of playing in China, and one of the most special one was winning the 2006 Volvo China Open which helped me get back into the European Tour. And while I have been in a fortunate position of being able to play most big events there (by virtue of being a member of the European Tour), it is nice to know my other Asian Tour colleagues will also be able to do so now.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four time champion on the European Tour)