Ryder Cup skipper Thomas Bjorn gets extra pick for 2018
Bjorn, announced as European captain in December, will aim to wrestle back the famous trophy at Le Golf National in France next year and has seemingly been aided by the new rules.
Firstly, there will be a greater weighting for points earned in tournaments in the latter stages of the selection process to benefit players who hit form at the right time.
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Hide AdSecondly, following the introduction of the Rolex Series, no Ryder Cup qualification points will be available from tournaments staged anywhere in the world played in the same week as these events in both 2017 and 2018.
Bjorn’s team will now comprise of the first four players from the European Points List, followed by the leading four players from the World Points List. The rule changes also mean 45-year-old Bjorn, pictured, will have an extra wild card pick as Europe look to avenge their 17-11 defeat at Hazeltine in 2016.
Bjorn said: “I am delighted that the Tournament Committee passed these regulations which I believe will considerably benefit the European Ryder Cup team in 2018 without compromising the strength or importance of the European Tour.
“Part of the reason for my appointment last month was to, as soon as possible, begin the process required to regain the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in 2018, and these changes are the first step on that journey. Hopefully they will help me have the 12 best European players available in 20 months’ time.”
Meanwhile, in Abu Dhabi, Thongchai Jaidee was yesterday hitting shots at the range to the backdrop of The Zephyr Song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Minutes later, the playlist had moved on to a dance song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris.
In the latest move to make golf more entertaining and fun for both players and spectators, music is being played on the range throughout the week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The intention also is for music to be played on the walkway to the first tee, giving it a feel comparable to the build-up to a boxing match.
“We’re in the entertainment business,” European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said. “As long as you are always conscious of the integrity and protection of the game’s magic. But you are always looking to improve your product, in any business that you run.”
Pelley – the former head of Canadian conglomerate Rogers Media – is seen as something of a visionary when it comes to golf. Since becoming chief executive in 2015, he has overseen the implementation of a policy that allows players to wear shorts during practice rounds and pro-ams, introduced measures to speed up play, and added to the schedule an event in Australia that will conclude with a six-hole shootout on the final day.
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Hide AdPelley said there will be music at the range on the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in May, as well as at other events in the European Tour’s Rolex Series, and that soon it will be “synonymous with golf.”
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, the Open champion, has been at Ryder Cup matches and exhibition events where there has been walk-on music at the first tee – “They always play [Abba’s] Dancing Queen when I come walking up,” Stenson said. “I’m all for it.”
In Abu Dhabi this week, the playlist on the range consists of songs requested by players, with the Red Hot Chili Peppers particularly popular.
Yesterday, the music wasn’t loud enough to be heard out on the course. Tuesday was a different story, though.
“I didn’t like it on Tuesday,” said Paul Lawrie, the 48-year-old Aberdonian who won the Open in 1999. “When they turned it down, it was fine. But before that, you couldn’t hear your caddie.”
Lawrie is on the tour’s committee that approved music on the range. “You need to try [these ideas] to see if they work or not,” he said. “Everyone seems to quite like it but I’m just old. I’m old-school.”
US Open champion Dustin Johnson said: “Having a little music going kind of keeps the mood light.”