European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley insists the BMW PGA Championship will remain at Wentworth for a “long period of time”, but only if two stumbling blocks are removed.
Wentworth residents are seeking a massive increase in the fees paid by the Tour to hold the prestigious event on the estate’s West Course and attempted to disrupt the erection of tournament infrastructure ahead of this week’s event.
The quality of the greens and the layout of the course since changes were made in 2009 have also kept some of Europe’s star players away, but Pelley believes both issues will be resolved ahead of next year’s event.
“We have every intention to be at Wentworth for a long period of time,” Pelley said.
“This is the home of the BMW PGA Championship and BMW have been nothing short of spectacular partners. But there are two things that have to happen to make that a reality.
“We need to come to an agreement with the Wentworth Residents Association, with the Roads Committee and the Wentworth Club. We’ve had a trying three or four months but I’m confident that we can come to that resolution.
“The second thing is we have to significantly improve the golf course. And when I say we, it really is (owners) Reignwood, and I have complete confidence that they are on the right track to not only creating what I believe to be a world-class golf course, but also to building something special on the entire piece of property.
“The golf course in particular, where our interest lies, is a golf course that we believe our top players will want to play on year after year.”
Although Pelley spoke of restoring the “feel” of the original Harry Colt design, the controversial water hazard on the 18th will remain in place, with improvements set to include a full redesign of the eighth, 11th, 14th, 15th and 16th greens. The number of bunkers will be reduced from 88 to 65 and some of the deep bunkers made shallower.
Speaking ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last November, Pelley said that tournament had replaced the BMW PGA Championship as the European Tour’s “flagship” event, due to its higher prize fund and bonus pool.
Pelley said the prize money of €5million at Wentworth was “unacceptable” and wants to increase purses in order to prevent Europe’s top players migrating to the PGA Tour in the United States.
“This is a premium event, will always be a premium event,” he said on Sunday.
“Our goal is to have a number of premium, world-class events, such as this.
“When you talk about the prize fund, what you have to understand is on the US tour they are playing for 6.5 to 7.5 million (dollars) every week, and for our young players that is a great opportunity to make significant dollars.
“So if we can combine the fact of playing on some great golf courses with increased prize funds, and give our golfers great experiences, I’m confident that our players will want to play here.
“I guess probably that’s the thing that surprises me the most is how willing our players have been wanting to help, willing to share their thoughts, being part of the actual vision. And many of them have said, ”I’d prefer not to play in the US if you can provide this, this and that.“
