George O’Grady, the outgoing Chief Executive of the European Tour, has made a spirited defence of the Race to Dubai format, even though it was decided before the start of the DP World Tour Championship.
It was announced earlier this month that O’Grady, who was appointed Chief Executive in 2005, has asked the Board of Directors to begin the process to appoint his successor.
Rory McIlroy sewed up the Race to Dubai last weekend after the Turkish Airlines Open, as his lead in the standings cannot be beaten at the Earth course.
O’Grady is not keen on changing the format to make it like the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs, which are now guaranteed to be decided after the final event, but could crown any player who had four good weeks, rather than someone who had a great season.
“The concept of the Playoffs is a very American concept, which has not really gone down in the other parts of the world, yet,” O’Grady said. “This year, whatever format you had, if Rory McIlroy didn’t win your season‑long thing, you’d have to say you contrived it.
“There’s some degree of protection needed for your sponsors, but I like something that is clean and easy to understand.
“Now, there’s nothing given in golf. We will sit down after the tournament and look at all the structures we needed. But if you just play as well as Rory McIlroy… he is the right winner of the Race to Dubai.”
O’Grady added that apart from the European Tour members doing so well on the world scene and the success of the Ryder Cup, one of his biggest achievements is the DP World Tour Championship.
“We are here in Dubai, which certainly will be one of my key achievements. I feel, anybody could have dreamt up the Race to Dubai if somebody comes at you with a pot of cash. But keeping it going through the recession did require a modicum of skill from the whole team here in Dubai and within The European Tour,” he added.
