England needs its own Paul Lawrie

Scotland 5, England 1.

No, that’s not my prediction for next week’s football international at Celtic Park. Even I’m not that daft.

Rather, it is a breakdown of how many events each of the two countries is presently expected to host on the 2015 European Tour international schedule.

Scotland is set to stage the Open (St Andrews), Scottish Open (Gullane), Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay (Murcar Links), Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (St Andrews/Carnoustie/Kingsbarns) and, barring any surprises, the Johnnie Walker Championship will return to Gleneagles after making way for the Ryder Cup in 2014.

England, by contrast, has only got the BMW PGA Championship on its radar for next season.

Right now, England is slated to host just one European Tour event next season.

It’s no secret that top-level tournament golf in England has been in terrible decline over the past few years.

Cast your mind back to the start of the millennium. England played host to a total of 14 European Tour events in a 19-month period between April 2000 and October 2001.

Fourteen.

This year, it hosted three.

Right now, it is slated to host just one next year.

What’s going on?

There are a plethora of reasons for all this, the majority of which are outlined here. What is missing from that list, though, is that the country lacks a ‘Paul Lawrie’ figure.

As I write, I’m sitting no more than 15 feet from the 45-year-old former Open champion who has, in the last hour, unveiled plans for his own European Tour event, the aforementioned Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay.

The event, to take place at Murcar Links next summer, is the latest in a long line of ventures entered into by the Aberdonian. Through his eponymous foundation, he has introduced scores of youngsters to golf. By investing in his self-named golf centre on the outskirts of his home town, he has produced a game improvement facility that is one of the finest in the country. And that’s just for starters.

Now, through his new European Tour event, he has given his fellow players another tournament to consider for their 2015 schedules and, in his own way, helped to deliver on Scotland’s promise of a tangible, wide-scale post Ryder Cup legacy.

He has also given Scottish golf fans, particularly those in his native North East, another opportunity to watch top-class European Tour golf on their own doorstep. So, you could forgive English golf fans for wondering why one of their own – a Westwood, a Poulter, a Rose, a Casey, a Donald and, perhaps more so than any other, a Faldo, pictured above – hasn’t done likewise.

With English tournament golf struggling so badly, the door is ajar for a generous pro with a ‘giving back’ attitude to stride through it. To this point, none has come knocking.

England is a country that needs more European Tour events. Hell, it deserves more European Tour events.

Thing is, Lawrie’s move isn’t exactly unique. Earlier today, he acknowledged that hosting his own tournament is something he has been considering since he first took note of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His 2012 Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy has put his foundation’s name to the 2015 Irish Open, whilst Thomas Bjorn sponsored a tournament named after him on the Challenge Tour in his native Denmark in 2007.

All of which makes it even more incredible that England has been unable to find a tournament-hosting player of its own.

If only they could, just think how big a boon that would be. It’s a country that needs more European Tour events. Hell, it deserves more European Tour events.

And, in the absence of any blue-chip, deep-pocketed benefactors, the onus is on its highest profile players to step up.

Here’s hoping they do.

Does England need its own Paul Lawrie?

Do you agree with Michael McEwan that England needs a ‘Paul Lawrie‘ figure of its own to step up and help plug the gap where high-profile European Tour events are concerned? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor