Return of British Masters is a boost for home-grown players – and Sky Sports

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/05/british-masters-sky-sports-european-tour

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This week’s confirmation that the British Masters will return to the European Tour schedule will be widely welcomed for providing an all-too rare sighting of top-level players in England. There is an important subtext, though: that of Sky Sports’ increasing commitment to golf.

Broadcasting matters have become a key topic of debate since Sky seized Open Championship coverage from the BBC. The widespread fear is a simple one: that moving the third major of the year on to subscription television will have a negative impact on participation and interest levels in Britain.

Not only do the Royal & Ancient and Sky reject such a worry, the broadcaster seemingly wishes to endorse its status as the television home of golf. Sky will be a partner and “presenting sponsor” of the British Masters when it takes place at Woburn in October, offering an illustration that is not of a mind to rest on its laurels. This tournament was once part of the BBC’s staple golfing diet before its gradual reduction of coverage triggered the Open decision. Now Sky has been integral to the competition coming back.

Four English players – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Luke Donald – will take on alternate years of hosting the British Masters. In year one, Poulter will stage the event at Woburn. Just like Rory McIlroy’s high-profile involvement with the Irish Open, which will command a stellar field this year at Royal County Down, the hope is that a title sponsor can also be found.

Paul Lawrie has also stepped forward to stage a matchplay event in Aberdeenshire from late July. The willingness of seasoned professionals to hand something back to the sport is both admirable and potentially advantageous.

“I think we have starved the UK of tournaments over the years and obviously the sponsors have dropped off,” Poulter explained. “Woburn has always been a great venue for great events and still has one with a seniors event. But it is great for us, all four of us, to put another tournament back in the UK. The UK fans don’t see enough golf and don’t see enough of us at home.

“It is great to have the British Masters back on the schedule after seven years. We understand that we need to give back as much as possible to the game of golf. Hopefully this is a way, with the help of Sky Sports and the European Tour, to grow the game, to get a little bit more interest from the kids and to get more people out there playing golf.

“I can’t wait to get to work with the guys to work out how we make it a brilliant tournament. Woburn has always had a great crowd, there are three courses there, so we have plenty of room. I am going to try and get as strong a field as possible. Woburn, Sky Sports and the Tour deserve that for helping to put this tournament back on. And there’s a big purse as well, so that always helps.” That prize fund stretches to £3m, which represents a significant improvement on the vast majority of European Tour events.

Sky is understandably bullish about its golfing involvement. “We are able to give sports significantly more air time than free-to-air broadcasters,” it said in a statement. “For example, we dedicated an entire channel to last year’s Ryder Cup, offering 330 hours of coverage across 14 days, including all three days live from Gleneagles.

“We offer unrivalled buildup and live coverage of each major, including all four days plus the par three contest from Augusta. This is something that free-to-air broadcasters are not able to offer. We are a passionate supporter of grassroots sport and its ability to inspire and engage young people.”

Paul McGinley, meanwhile, has defended the USA taskforce approach to the Ryder Cup. The committee was set up after McGinley led Europe to yet another success over the USA team in Scotland last September. Speaking in New York on Thursday, the Irishman said the approach was perfectly logical.

“Let’s put it in terms of a business,” McGinley said. “If you are a business and you were losing all the time and profits were going down, what would you do? You’d sit down, maybe clear out the boardroom and start again and say: ‘OK, where are we going? What are the fundamentals we’ve got to get in place?’ And that’s pretty much what America has done.”