Golf: Lee Westwood to skip The Players Championship
World number one Lee Westwood will skip Professional Golfers Association’s signature tour, The Players Championship, owing to the restrictions placed on non-members.
The 37-year-old professional gave the news in a press conference. He said, “I'd go over for the Players if I could play in the tournament the week before, but I don't want to pitch up at the Players cold, having not played for four weeks since Augusta. So I'll play a couple of tournaments on the European Tour instead.”
The statement means trouble for the US PGA, as the sponsors will be the first one to be affected by this decision. Westwood’s absence in the tournament means a lot of loss for them. Westwood said that he wanted to be a part of the fifth major, but owing to the rigidness in the schedule laid by the PGA Tour management, he could not oblige.
Westwood’s manager Chubby Chandler explained the situation to the press. He said, “This sums up what's wrong with golf at the moment. There are too many people in power thinking only about their own interests rather than what is good for the game. It does my head in to think the world No 1 in his sport can't play in a tournament he wants to play in, and which the sponsor wants him to play in. The Players is a big PGA Tour event, but that's all it is.”
In 2010, PGA Tour drafted a new rule that the professionals would have to make a choice between the two circuits, as they would have to play in 13 tournaments in a year to retain the membership. Players like Paul Casey and Lee Westwood who held dual memberships had to withdraw from one.
Due to the new regulations, Westwood gave up his PGA membership and chose home circuit for the 2011 season. However, things have taken a serious turn when Westwood decided to omit The Players Championship from his schedule.
What will happen next? Will Lee Westwood change his mind and turn back to the event, surrendering to the pressure exerted by the sponsors or will he stay vaulted to his decision? To find out more, stay tuned to http://www.senore.com/.
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