Players critical of WGC event schedule

Tiger Woods has led a chorus of leading players voicing their disappointment at next year’s four World Golf Championships events being played in the United States.

Fresh from winning the WGC-American Express Championship in Ireland on Sunday, world No.1 Woods, British Open champion Ernie Els and Australian Craig Parry all called on the events to be shared around the world more often.

Other players including Mark Calcavecchia and Paul Azinger agreed that the fact that most of the WGC sponsors are American-based has a big bearing on where the events are staged, believing Australia, South Africa, Japan and Europe should also host events.

But Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, who has had many run-ins with American fans at major tournaments in the past, disagreed because he believes there have already been enough of the events outside the US and there will probably be again in the future.

In late 2000 Valderrama in Spain hosted the WGC-American Express Championship, and the 2001 WGC-Match Play Championship was held in Melbourne, before the weekend’s WGC-Amex Championship was held at Mount Juliet in Ireland.

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