Sometimes the most ominous news comes in the most innocuous paragraphs, and might be the case with this little nugget which appeared on Golf Digest's Local Knowledge web site.
Apparently, the PGA Tour is looking to stage a Champions Tour event in Dubai, which has long been the fiefdom (at least in a golfing sense) of the European Tour.
More international opportunities might be on the horizon for the Champions Tour.
Golf World has learned that tour officials are exploring the viability of a tournament in Dubai, perhaps as early as next year, though there is no timetable. The idea is to provide a second overseas event scheduled either before or after a new event slated to debut in 2010 in South Korea.
The PGA Tour announced in June a multi-year agreement to take the Champions Tour to Asia for the first time with a tournament at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, near Seoul. That tournament is likely to be held in September.
For better or worse, the European Tour has now put itself in a position where it is virtually bankrolled by Dubai, via the Race to Dubai, and it will not appreciate the Americans encroaching on "its" territory, even if it is only in the shape of a Champions Tour event.
Why not? Well, let's say the tournament takes place and it goes well and becomes a regular event. Meanwhile, PGA Tour executives get the opportunity to forge personal relationships with the money men in Dubai and start whispering sweet somethings in their ears. What would be the next step? That's right - a full-blown PGA Tour event. In which case, there might be some changes to the beautiful friendship between the European Tour and Dubai.
I'm not saying it's going to happen. I'm just saying it could.
