Kim, Villegas Going European

By Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

A slightly disturbing trend could be hitting the PGA Tour and there’s no solution on the horizon.

The migration to the European Tour for big name PGA Tour stars is starting to begin.

Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas announced they’re joining the European Tour for the 2009 season. They each had to pay 2,000 pounds (which is a little over $3,000 in American currency) to cement their memberships. Kim’s officially debuting next weekend at the HSBC Championships in Shanghai.

Now, obviously, China isn’t part of Europe, but the worldwide appeal of the European Tour is what catching the eye of PGA Tour mainstays. As a matter of fact, Phil Mickelson’s even rumored to have his eye on more overseas dates as well.

If Mickelson does end up joining Kim and Villegas, that would mean nine of the top 10 golfers in the world have official membership on the European Tour.

The only one still a member of the PGA Tour? Tiger Woods. However, Tiger does play select European Tour events due to the exorbitant appearance fees that can be offered (and the PGA Tour doesn’t allow those fees on their tour).

Speaking of the money, it’s likely a big reason Kim and Villegas are planning on playing more European events. At the end of the season, the Top 60 golfers with European Tour status get to play in the $20 million European Tour season-ending Dubai World Championship. That’s a $10 million bonus pool and a $10 million purse, with the winner picking up almost $1.7 million.

Conversely, the conclusion of the PGA Tour features a $1 million prize for the winner who successfully comes out with the most FedEx Cup points. With the Dubai World Championship, there seems to be a more clear-cut system compared to the convoluted FedEx Cup schedule. Also, the prize money’s obviously more which can only add to the appeal of the world’s best players.

While the PGA Tour has the world’s best player remaining as a member, there has to be somewhat of a sting to lose Kim and Villegas. Kim’s only 23 years old and won twice on the PGA Tour last year. He also put together a string of solid finishes in FedEx Cup events and was arguably the sparkplug behind the United States’ Ryder Cup victory.

If not for Vijay Singh, we’d be talking about how Villegas won the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship to take the $1 million FedEx Cup grand prize. Singh had it wrapped up after the first two FedEx Cup events, but Villegas had PGA Tour fans wondering if his season-ending victories were a sign of bigger things to come in 2009.

This doesn’t mean we won’t be deprived of seeing the golfers who jump to the European Tour. They’ll still play in the four majors, World Golf Championship events and they’ll still make numerous PGA Tour appearances. However, if you want to see them on the European Tour, get up early on weekend mornings and tune in to the Golf Channel.

By playing in Europe, golfers have a chance to play in more worldwide events and play for bigger prize purses. Also, the fields will be more competitive which can only help a player grow and eventually lead to bigger pay days down the road. The Tour’s giving the PGA some much needed competition.

How the PGA Tour will react to this revelation is the unknown part of this equation. The FedEx Cup, though flawed, was their solution to a lucrative reward for golfers. The European Tour appears to have the upper hand as of now. Golf fans can only win watching the PGA try to rebound from losing some of their clout as the premier golf tour in the world.