Darren Clarke reluctant to join PGA Tour owing to family obligations
PGA Tour might be one of the most coveted golf tour events around the world but three of the four current major champions are not its members at the moment. Rory McIlroy, the US Open winner of the season, Darren Clarke, the Open Championship winner and Martin
Kaymer the reigning PGA Championship winner, do not have the PGA Tour membership and probably will not be taking it up in the near future.
Charl Schwartzel, the Masters winner at the Congressional Country Club, is the only active major winner who is playing on the tour.
Clarke, who has played most of his career events on the European Tour, is reluctant to join the PGA Tour despite in view of the recent surge in his career profile.
“I look at the PGA Tour, and it’s a wonderful Tour, and the whole thing about being a member is so you can participate in the FedEx at the end of the year. Playing in the FedEx is not really something that would get my attention,” Clarke said Tuesday. “It’s
wonderful that they’ve got it over here, but I’ve got other commitments and stuff, and my home is in Europe now.”
The mystery remains unsolved as to why many of the top ranking European players are reluctant to join the PGA Tour despites having a swelled up winner’s cheque as well as precious FedEx Cup points. Even the $10-million in FedEx Cup Playoffs has not been
able to lure in the Europeans to the American courses.
McIlroy, the 22-year-old Irishman has been blunter in his rhetoric against the PGA and stated several times that he will never leave the European Tour and joining the PGA is still a far flung idea. The reasons behind the refusal might originate from the
historic rivalry between the Europeans and Americans which spans for around more than 150 years.
Martin Kaymer is probably the only European major winner at the moment that has shown interest in the PGA and has signaled a possible membership bid to join the same. Kaymer has not won a single event for the season, although he managed to perform well in
high profile events like the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson and the Open Championship last month. He will be defending his title at the PGA Championship Atlanta where he won his first major event last year.
Clarke, on the other hand, is possibly shying away giving to his age and his family obligations at home. Clarke picked up his two sons from the boarding school so that he can spend more time with them at home, especially in the absence of their mother Heather,
who died giving into breast cancer in 2006.
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