On Tuesday night the tournament committee unanimously voted in favour of the proposal. European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke had set the ball rolling during a practice round of the EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur last week. He had taken special permission from the Tour to let the players play with shorts.
The idea was mooted by European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley after his discussions with players during last year’s DP World Tour Championship.
Several stars, including Clarke, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick, wore shorts during their pro-am round. American World No1 Jordan Spieth, a member of the PGA Tour, almost sounded jealous when he said: “I did not get the memo today or I would not be wearing pants right now. I think it’s awesome.
“Guys seem to all love it over here. I’ve not heard one person, one Tour player complain about it. And most of the guys that are really talking highly of it are the older guys, oddly enough.”
Poulter tweeted his approval: “It’s 2016 not 1990. Get rid of the stuffy old rules that hold golf back. Make it more fun everyone.”
Another player who did not wear shorts was Rory McIlroy who joked he did not want to show his pale Irish legs. He said: “I just need a couple more weeks in the sun to get my legs out in public. Sort of pale Irish skin doesn’t go so well. I don’t think it should be too big a deal. You look at every other sport and people are allowed to expose their legs, so I don’t see why we’re not allowed to do that either. I don’t think it takes anything away from the tradition of the game.”
