Paul Azinger made a backhanded remark about the European Tour being easier to win on than the PGA Tour after Tommy Fleetwood blew his chance at winning the Honda Classic on Sunday.
Personally, I don’t believe that Azinger is wrong, but I do believe that he could have phrased this in a much better way.
A. It is harder to win on the PGA Tour than the European Tour
B. It is harder to win on the European Tour than any other tour that isn’t the PGA.
C. Both Tours are difficult to win on.
Don’t get this twisted, it is extremely difficult to win on any level of professional golf, but as Azinger points out, Lee Westwood, a Hall of Fame golfer in his own right, has won 44 times in his career with 25 of those wins coming on the European Tour but has only managed to collect two PGA Tour victories since turning pro in 1993.
Westy may play in more European Tour events increasing his chances at winning overseas, but he is still an amazing golfer who has more top finishes in majors without a win than anyone. Why hasn’t he won more on the PGA Tour? Well, because it’s tougher competition on a weekly basis.
With that said, there are plenty of PGA Tour players who make the trip over the pond quite often and do not record a win on the European Tour. Why? Because the level of play on the European Tour is high; the only difference is the fields aren’t as deep.
I’m not here to cause a Twitter riot and say that one Tour is better than the other because they are both great and difficult, however, the fields in weekly PGA Tour events are deeper and that is undeniable…so, yes, the PGA Tour is more difficult than the European Tour.
Oh, it’s a Ryder Cup year!
Tommy Fleetwood is going to win many tournaments in his career on the PGA Tour.