Player Profile - Balance of Power

This week’s player profile focuses on the new balance of power in world golf, with the previously unbeatable Tiger Woods now world number three and the European young guns taking centre stage in an increasing number of competitions.

The past two years have been a time of significant change in the world, and golf is no exception. Having managed to weather the worst effects of the credit crunch, golf tournaments still boast generous purses and golden opportunities for talented players with a taste for victory. The number of tournaments in Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, once strangers to the world of professional golf, has increased markedly with both the European and US PGA tours including events outside their home continents on the tournament schedule in 2011. The Asian tour has also flourished, and promises to join the sister tours in America and Europe as the global golfing family continues to grow.

Not only has the scope of world golf expanded as new countries join the major tour calendars, but the centres of golf excellence appear to be expanding, if not shifting. While the United States remains the leading destination for professional golfers, the European golfing Renaissance has seen the world top ten dominated by young players from the Continent. Players from Asia, Africa and South America have made highly successful debuts on the US PGA Tour at a time when local hero Tiger Woods has seen his game suffer the effects of an upheaval in his personal life.

As the spirited young German Martin Kaymer overtook Tiger Woods to claim the world number two title at the weekend, golfing fans would have had food for thought. As the scope of world golf widens to reflect new prosperity in Asia and the Middle East and the young generation of European golfers restore the status of golf on the Continent to its former place alongside the United States, one this if for sure: the future of the game will be both exciting and very bright.