Gary Player hits out at American Wentworth no-shows

Gary Player has criticised American golfers for ignoring the BMW PGA Championship, telling them: you can never be a world champion if you stay at home.

The nine-time major winner took to Twitter to lament the lack of US players teeing it up at Wentworth this week.

It’s actually worse than Player thinks. Only five Americans – Julian Suri, Harold Varner III, David Lipsky, Daniel Im and Chase Koepka – are in the field. Of those, world No.79 Suri is the highest ranked.

Interestingly, there are more world ranking points up for grabs at Wentworth this week than in the corresponding PGA Tour event, the Fort Worth Invitational at Colonial.

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The BMW PGA Championship began life in 1955 as the PGA Close Championship. It has been an ever-present on the European Tour since the circuit was established in 1972 and has been played at Wentworth – home of the European Tour’s HQ – every year since 1984.

In the entire history of the tournament, only one American has ever won it. That was in 1975, when Arnold Palmer prevailed at Royal St George’s. 

Do you agree with Gary Player? 

Should more Americans make the effort to play in the BMW PGA Championship? Or do you think they ought to be entitled to do as they please? Leave your thoughts in our Comments section below.

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