The troubled Australasian PGA Tour suffered another major blow on Wednesday
when chief executive Andy Laidlaw quit.
Tour chairman Wayne Grady said Laidlaw's resignation would force yet another
delay to the release of the 2001-02 playing schedule.
The tour dates were supposed to be released last month but were postponed when
the promoters of the Greg Norman International, Australia's richest annual event,
cancelled their tournament because of a dispute over television rights.
There had been speculation in the local media that other events were in danger
of folding because of growing uncertainty among sponsors.
And some promoters were even threatening to start a breakaway tour unless they
resolved their differences with the PGA.
Grady said Laidlaw resigned because of "differences" with the board
but said his departure would not have an impact on the tour, except to delay the
announcement by another week.
But Grady, who celebrated his win in the 1990 U.S. PGA championship with the
unforgettable "you bloody beauty," said he was concerned about the damage
being done to the tour's reputation and hoped to reassure players the tour would
proceed as planned.
"I know the players overseas have been frustrated but we are now sending
communications to them to bring them up to date," Grady said.
"The people in place here are very confident of their ability to keep
things running."
