Gleneagles would fit well for World Match Play

AS WE wait to discover what Diageo and the European Tour have in mind for Gleneagles in the post-Ryder Cup era, I’ve got an idea. How about making it the new home for the World Match Play Championship?

The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles. Picture: Ian Rutherford

It’s believed that bosses at the Perthshire resort would like to stage something different from a regular Tour event, having done that with a tournament on the PGA Centenary Course through from 1999 to last year.

Despite speculation in the immediate aftermath of the Ryder Cup, it’s unlikely that will be a World Golf Championship, so what about the World Match Play?

With Volvo having pulled out after the event’s 50th anniversary staging at The London Club, it needs a new backer and, on the surface, would appear to be a good fit for Diageo, another of the European Tour’s most loyal sponsors.

As the Ryder Cup proved, the PGA Centenary Course is also a good fit for match-play, even more so perhaps than an event that requires a card and pencil to be used.

Could it be held at Gleneagles in the same slot as this year? Perhaps not, but last year it was staged in mid-May, so that is clearly flexible.

In truth, it would be great to see the World Match Play return to Wentworth, its spiritual home. Sizeable crowds at The London Club certainly showed an English golfing public starved of top-level tournament golf are prepared to support the event if it stays in the South-East.

If that’s not possible, though, and it seems unlikely, then why not Gleneagles? We’d certainly get Patrick Reed back there and, hopefully, Jordan Spieth, too. Throw in a few of Europe’s winning team from last month and it looks a recipe for success.