9 Fascinating Golf Stories of 2008 - #8: The Race to Dubai

Here at Waggle Room, we're going to do the cliche thing around this time of year and do a countdown of the top such and suches of the year.  For us, we're going to do the top 9 golf stories of the year.

George O'Grady and the European Tour cast the die against the PGA Tour earlier this year with the announcement of a five year, quarter billion dollar partnership with Dubai-based Leisurecorp to grow the Tour and its course properties. 

On the course, the end result was a two-pronged jab at the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup.  The first was the Race to Dubai.  It was nothing novel - simply a remaning of the Order of Merit.  Still, the Race to Dubai implied a season long race to get into the top sixty on the Euro Tour money list.  If  a player managed the feat and had played in the new minimum of 12 events for 2009 membership, then they would qualify for the second prong of the job - the Dubai World Championship.

The Dubai World Championship was billed as the world's richest golf tournament at 5 million GBP (about $10 million at the time, about $7.5 million today).  The sixty players that qualified would battle it out for the payday for that tournament measuring nearly $2 million to the winner.  The winner of that tournament would likely then win the Race to Dubai title and, with it, a share of a $10 million bonus pool almost equal to the first place prize of the Dubai World Championship.  It was billed as the biggest single-tournament payday in golf.

The European golf media went nuts for the concept.  The Euro Tour had finally struck a blow at the Yanks, Tim Finchem, and the PGA Tour.  The tide was changing and the Euro Tour would dominate the next decade.  The PGA Tour's demise was predicted in light of its exposure to sponsorships from companies that were dying, merging, or both.  Rumors swirled that PGA Tour studs were going to join the European Tour - including Phil Mickelson.

In the end, though, the story really turned out to be more hype than reality. 

Yes, the European Tour presented a strong schedule for 2009.  It also had 11 TBAs on it.

The European economy is tanking at the same pace as that of the American economy, with Euro zone currency that is seen as undoubtedly weaker than the dollar in the long term.

European critics are wondering if Leisurecorp's huge stake in golf without a lot of tour experience will cause the Euro Tour to lose some of its soul.

Phil Mickelson didn't join the Tour.  He's going to see how it shakes out this season.  Meanwhile, the Tour did get Villegas and Kim on the roster.  The other names announced were really already members of the Tour or faces frequently found on their stops.

And that $10 million Dubai World Championship will likely be eclipsed by the Players Championship this season.

Still, while the hype may have been too big for the Race to Dubai, the Euro Tour has struck back.  It is a gamble that O'Grady had to take and it will certainly pay off in better exposure for the Tour, improved fields, and an ownership of golf's spotlight for more time during the calendar year than any other period in the Tour's history.

Time will tell, though, if this is nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory.