Graeme McDowell defends tours against rival world circuit bid

Graeme McDowell maintained his recent good form to set the pace at the Saudi International. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty

Speaking after maintaining his recent good form to earn a share of the lead in the  opening round of the Saudi International, the Northern Irishman’s opinion on the proposed Premier Golf League will be music to the ears of European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley and his PGA Tour counterpart, Jay Monahan.

Earlier in the week, Ernie Els said he “loved” the proposals by British-based World Golf Group to have 48 elite players competing in 18 tournaments, each over 54 holes, for a £7.5 million purse each week, with a Formula One-type team format also included in the plan to shake up the game.

Phil Mickelson then admitted it had been “fascinating” to discover the exact details of the plan as he was wooed by representatives of the group behind it during the Saudi International pro-am on Wednesday.

“I think most guys are  pretty happy with what we have right now,” said McDowell after finishing with three birdies for a six-under-par 64 to set the pace at Royal Greens Golf Club in King Abdullah  Economic City along with Malaysia’s Gavin Green.

“I really don’t know what the full proposal is, but I would question any type of longevity and how it could possibly be better than what’s on the table right now for the world’s  top players.”

In response to details of the proposed breakaway circuit being revealed by British-based World Golf Group at the end of last week, Monahan sent an email to his members on Monday, with Pelley doing likewise as two of the biggest powerbrokers in the game appeared to make it clear that players would not be allowed to be part of the plan to  create a breakaway tour by another body.

“Yes, I would say so,” replied McDowell to being asked if there was a sense of fear if he was to take that step and then find there was no road back to either of the two traditional main tours, “and I would be very worried as it is going to be a very difficult question for players at all levels.

“It is a different question  facing (world No 1) Brooks Koepka than facing me. It is a very different question on so many levels and for different types of players that makes it difficult to find any collusion in any type of combination deal for all of these players. My question is how do you bring all these types of players together? It just seems it will be very hard to pull off.”

Half of the £1 billion start-up investment for the proposed new circuit is believed to be Saudi Arabian money, meaning Pelley could face some awkward discussions with Golf Saudi officials over the next couple of days on the Red Sea coast.

Confirming his email to European players, Henrik Stenson, who also got off to a promising start with a 65 in the second staging of the Saudi International, said: “Keith sent out a message either yesterday or the day before and it was very similar to the email that Jay sent out. Without going into details, you could kind of sense or feel that the two might have talked to each other.” Asked if the tone of the European  circuit’s supremo had been a softly-softly approach or getting straight to the point about the consequences of such a step, the Swede added: “It was a bit of both, I’d say. Probably more towards stamping down than not.

“We are all in this together and the best way going forward would be to try to find a solution where everyone can benefit and everyone can be together in this.”