SIR Nick Faldo WALKS DOWN THE 15TH HOLE DURING THE SECOND ROUND OF THE 2018 SENIOR OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS PHOTO COPYRIGHT MATT HOOPER, 2018
1 JULY, 2022 - SHANK MEDIA, BY MATT HOOPER: "IF A PLAYER WANTS TO BECOME WORLD NUMBER ONE, THEY HAVE TO BE A PGA Tour MEMBER". REALLY JAY?
THE PGA Tour COMMISSIONER HAS THROWN A LOT OF SHADE ON PLAYERS THAT AREN'T A MEMBER OF THE CIRCUS HE RUNS OUT OF PONTE VEDRA BEACH IN FLORIDA, AND ONE OF THE PIECES OF ABSOLUTE NONSENSE HE SPOUTED RECENTLY WAS THAT IF A PLAYER WANTS TO BECOME WORLD NUMBER ONE THEN THEY MUST PLAY ON THE PGA Tour. HE USED THIS WHEN HE WAS DISCUSSING THE RISE OF SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, BUT WHAT HE SAYS IS ALMOST ENTIRELY UNTRUE AND AT THE VERY BEST INACCURATE.
LET US DEBUNK THE MYTH BY LOOKING AT THE FOLLOWING PLAYERS TO HOLD WORLD NUMBER ONE, AND WHERE THEY PLAYED THE MAJORITY OF THEIR GOLF DURING THE SEASONS THEY WERE AT THE TOP OF THE GAME.
1. SEVE BALLESTEROS - five-time WORLD NUMBER ONE, 61 weeks total between April 1986 and august 1989
SEVE IS A EUROPEAN TOUR ICON, AND A EUROPEAN RYDER CUP LEGEND AND DURING THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD WHERE HE HELD NUMBER ONE FOR 5 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, SEVE PLAYED AND WON TITLES ALL OVER THE WORLD. IN 1986 SEVE PLAYED 21 TIMES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR INCLUDING 18 TOURNAMENTS WHICH COUNTED FOR THE EUROPEAN TOUR, AND JUST 1 REGULAR PGA Tour EVENT. IN 1987 THIS NUMBER OF REGULAR PGA Tour EVENTS INCREASED TO 5, BUT SEVE STILL PLAYED THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS GOLF ON OTHER TOURS AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING 17 TOURNAMENTS WHICH COUNTED FOR THE EUROPEAN TOUR. IN 1988, THE YEAR IN WHICH MOST PEOPLE AGREE SEVE PLAYED HIS BEST EVER GOLF, SEVE WON 7 TIMES AND PLAYED 18 TIMES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR AND JUST 4 TIMES ON THE PGA Tour OUTSIDE THE MAJORS. THEN IN THE FINAL YEAR IN WHICH HE HELD WORLD NUMBER ONE THE GREAT SPANIARD PLAYED 5 TIMES ON THE PGA TOUR AND 18 TIMES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR.
SO IN THE FOUR-YEAR PERIOD IN WHICH HE REACHED WORLD NUMBER ONE ON 5 SEPARATE OCCASIONS SEVE'S SCHEDULE INCLUDED:
16 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
55 EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS
15 PGA Tour EVENTS
HE WON 17 TITLES AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING 1 MAJOR, 2 PGA Tour EVENTS, 13 EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS AND 1 EVENT ON THE JAPAN GOLF TOUR.
2. SIR Nick Faldo - FOUR-TIME WORLD NUMBER ONE, 97 WEEKS IN TOTAL BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 1990 AND FEBRUARY 1994
Nick Faldo IS ARGUABLY THE GREATEST BRITISH GOLFER OF ALL-TIME AND WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR ME GETTING INTO GOLF AT THE AGE OF 11, AND ONCE AGAIN HE DEMONSTRATES CLEARLY WHAT JAY MONAHAN SAYING IS A LOAD OF COBBLERS. FALDO IS NOW WRONGLY SEEN AS SOMEWHAT OF A SPOKESMAN FOR THE PGA Tour THROUGH HIS ROLE AT CBS, BUT HIS PLAYING SCHEDULE WHEN HE REACHED WORLD NUMBER ONE SHOWED THAT HE WAS TRULY THE GLOBAL GOLFER.
IN 1990 SIR NICK PLAYED 22 TOURNAMENTS INCLUDING THE 4 MAJORS, JUST 4 REGULAR PGA Tour EVENTS AND 9 EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS. HIS 1990 SCHEDULE WAS TRULY GLOBAL, TAKING HIM TO AUSTRALIA TWICE, Hong Kong, JAPAN, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, FRANCE, USA, SPAIN, AND DUBAI. in 1991 FALDO PLAYED AN EVEN MORE GLOBAL SCHEDULE WHICH AGAIN INCLUDED JUST 4 REGULAR PGA Tour EVENTS, ALONGSIDE THE 4 MAJORS AND 11 REGULAR EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS. HE PLAYED IN JAMAICA, South Africa, JAPAN, USA, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, SPAIN, GERMANY, FRANCE, AND IRELAND. 1992 WAS THE YEAR OF FALDO IN TERMS OF BEING NUMBER ONE, AND HE PLAYED 26 TIMES AROUND THE WORLD INCLUDING JUST 4 REGULAR PGA Tour EVENTS ONCE AGAIN, IN ADDITION TO THE 4 MAJORS, 15 REGULAR EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS.
FALDO PLAYED IN JAMAICA, South Africa, SPAIN, JAPAN, THAILAND, ENGLAND, FRANCE, SWEDEN, SCOTLAND, USA, AND DUBAI AND DOMINATED THE WORLD NUMBER ONE SPOT FOR MOST OF THE YEAR. IN 1993 HE AGAIN HELD THE WORLD NUMBER ONE RANKING FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE YEAR, AND ONCE AGAIN PLAYED VERY FEW TIMES ON THE PGA Tour OUTSIDE THE MAJORS - JUST 3 THIS TIME. BY CONTRAST HE PLAYED 14 REGULAR EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS, AND CONTINUED TO TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, PLAYING IN JAMAICA, South Africa, SPAIN, ENGLAND, BELGIUM, SWITZERLAND, SWEDEN, IRELAND, USA, DUBAI AND SINGAPORE. THE FINAL YEAR IN WHICH FALDO HELD WORLD NUMBER ONE SAW HIM PLAY 24 TIMES AND THE MOST IN THIS PERIOD ON THE PGA Tour. IN 1994 FALDO PLAYED IN 6 REGULAR PGA Tour EVENTS, 4 MAJORS AND 11 REGULAR EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS.
SO IN THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN WHICH HE REACHED WORLD NUMBER ONE ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS FALDO'S SCHEDULE INCLUDED:
20 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
60 EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS
21 PGA Tour EVENTS
THESE TWO LEGENDS OF THE GAME PROVE BEYOND A DOUBT THAT ITS NOT THE TOUR WHICH YOU PLAY ON WHICH MATTERS, ITS THE RESULTS YOU HAVE WHICH DO, AND IT IS ABOUT BEING THE BEST WHEN IT MATTERS MOST.
THESE TWO ICONS ALWAYS PLAYED A GLOBAL SCHEDULE IN THEIR SEASON, AND IF ONLY THE WHOLE OF THE WORLD'S TOP 100 DID THIS THE SPORT WOULD HAVE A TRUE WORLDWIDE PLATFORM, AND PERHAPS THIS INCREDIBLE MESS THE SPORT IS IN AT THE MOMENT WOULD NOT HAVE TRANSPIRED. GREG NORMAN HAS SEEN THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR 30 YEARS, AND IT IS A CRYING SHAME THAT THE ESTABLISHMENT NEVER FULLY ENACTED WHAT HE PROPOSED, WITHIN THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, BECAUSE IT HAS LEFT THEMSELVES VULNERABLE TO AN ATTACK FROM THE OUTSIDE.
Lee Westwood AND Martin Kaymer WERE OTHER PLAYERS WHO REACHED WORLD NUMBER ONE PLAYING A PREDOMINANTLY EUROPEAN TOUR-CENTRIC SCHEDULE, PROVING IT IS THE CONSISTENCY OF YOUR GAME AND WINNING WHICH MATTERS.
