Perfect Partners

Forty years ago today the first drive of The European Tour was struck when the 1972 Open de España got under way on April 12. Here are a few stats highlights from the last four decades (courtesy of the European Tour website)

FIRST EVENT
Open de España - began April 12, 1972, played at Pals Golf Club and won by Antonio Garrido, beating Valentin Barrios in a play-off

NUMBER OF OFFICIAL EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS
1,384

NUMBER OF DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES TO HAVE WON ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR
35

NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO STAGE EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS
38

NUMBER OF DIFFERENT EUROPEAN TOUR WINNERS
402

AMOUNT OF OFFICIAL PRIZE MONEY PLAYED FOR
€ 1,732,068,862

NUMBER OF PLAY-OFFS
254

NUMBER OF HOLES-IN-ONE
780

NUMBER OF ALBATROSSES
79

MOST EUROPEAN TOUR OFFICIAL VICTORIES
50- Seve Ballesteros

MOST ORDERS OF MERIT
8 – Colin Montgomerie

MOST EUROPEAN OFFICIAL EVENTS PLAYED
706 - Sam Torrance

LEADER OF EUROPEAN TOUR OFFICIAL CAREER EARNINGS
€27,275,465 - Lee Westwood

YOUNGEST EUROPEAN TOUR WINNER
17 years and 188 days - Matteo Manassero - 2010 CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar

OLDEST EUROPEAN TOUR WINNER
48 years and 34 days - Des Smyth - 2001 Madeira Islands Open

AMATEUR WINNERS ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR
2007 Estoril Open de Portugal - Pablo Martin
2009 - Johnnie Walker Classic - Danny Lee
2009 - 3 Irish Open - Shane Lowry

FATHER/SON TO WIN ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Antonio/Igancio Garrido
Craig/Kevin Stadler
José Maria/Alejandro Cañizares

BROTHERS TO WIN ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR
Antonio/German Garrido
Seve/Manuel Ballesteros
Edoardo/Francesco Molinari

MOST CONSECUTIVE EUROPEAN TOUR CUTS MADE
82 - Ernie Els

MOST EUROPEAN TOUR TOP TEN FINISHES
183 - Colin Montgomerie

MOST OFFICIAL EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS IN THE MONEY
510 - Sam Torrance

LOWEST EUROPEAN TOUR 72 HOLE TOTAL
258 (-18) - Ian Woosnam - 1990 Torras Monte Carlo Open
258 (-14) - David Llewellyn - 1988 AGF Biarritz Open

LOWEST EUROPEAN TOUR 72 HOLES UNDER PAR
259 (-29) - Ernie Els - 2003 Johnnie Walker Classic

As I got into my golf starting way back in that sultry summer of '76, there seemed to be an increasing amount of the sport televised, mainly on the BBC. I can remember golf forming an integral of the Grandstand schedule in the summer months and watching a host of top players of the day in the company of Peter Alliss and Alex Hay. The coverage brought many magical moments but my personal highlight was Bernhard Langer playing his shot from an ash tree by the 17th green in the 1981 Benson & Hedges Championship at Fulford near York.

Sadly though, golf has diminished on the BBC and we are left with meagre scraps these days. The European Tour meanwhile has grown and grown from its own humble beginnings and is venturing ever further afield. Fortunately for the avid viewer, the baton has been picked up by Sky who have covered more and more events over the years. Their coverage, particularly in majors, WGC events and the Ryder Cup has continued to not only extend but embrace the new technologies available. Whilst I miss the cosy feeling of the late 70's and 80's that the BBC coverage gave, it has been abundantly clear that live sport coverage and especially one as complex and schedule consuming as golf is no longer high on the list of priorities at the Corporation.

As someone who appreciates being able to switch the TV on when he comes back from his own golfing exploits to see the European finest plying their trade anywhere from Vienna to New Delhi the recent news that Sky and the European Tour have signed a deal for another six years worth of coverage and next three Ryder Cups is fantastic news. Sky Sports began showing live European Tour golf in 1993 when it screened less than 60 hours of coverage from five tournaments. This year, the broadcaster will broadcast more than 4,400 hours of golf programming from more than 200 tournaments worldwide featuring not only the European Tour, but Seniors events on both sides of the Atlantic, and ladies golf from both the European and US Tours. The deal will take the partnership between Sky Sports and the European Tour into its 25th year, a relationship that has witnessed a huge increase in events, prize money and countries visited, while the Ryder Cup has become one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

The new contract provides Sky Sports with TV, mobile, online and tablet rights for:
RYDER CUP - Exclusive live coverage of three Ryder Cups: Gleneagles in 2014, Minnesota in 2016 and Paris in 2018. The 2012 Ryder Cup from Medinah will also be live on Sky Sports as part of the existing deal.

EUROPEAN TOUR - A minimum of 28 events from the Race to Dubai and exclusive live coverage of all four World Golf Championship events: the Accenture Matchplay Championship, Cadillac Championship, Bridgestone Invitational in the USA and HSBC Champions tournament in China.

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: "Our viewers have seen the growth of the Tour, the rise of the Ryder Cup and European golfers on top of the world rankings. Now they can be promised even more. "This new deal brings three more Ryder Cups, more exclusive tournaments and six more years of golf right through the calendar - all in HD, online and through mobile devices. "We have a valuable partnership with the European Tour; they have the events our viewers want to see and we have enjoyed the European Tour's continued growth. We now look forward to taking this relationship well into its second decade."

George O'Grady, Chief Executive of the European Tour, added: "We are delighted to extend our already tremendously successful agreement with Sky Sports for another six years, including three Ryder Cup matches. "We commend Sky for their pioneering and innovative technological advancements during the term of our previous agreements, embracing the move into High Definition coverage of the whole of the Tour and, for the first time ever, the development of groundbreaking 3D transmission of The Ryder Cup. Our television supporters have benefited from seeing virtually every shot played in this unique match.

"The Tour has unquestionably benefited from this outstanding commitment over those previous agreements, during which time we have seen so much new talent emerge from all the countries that we visit. We are pleased to announce this agreement when the top three in the Official World Golf Ranking are all European Tour members representing Sky's home territory of GB and Ireland."

Like all things, time moves on. Gone are the days of pastel coloured jumpers, check trousers (unless you are Ian Poulter) and large hair which seemed etched in my memory bank watching the golf. Some of the tour stars of the day such as Robert Lee, Howard Clark and Wayne Riley have all found careers in the media both on TV and the written word and so can offer their own unique perspective. Clearly the home viewer has never had it so good, but is there a possibility of the coverage reaching saturation point. Indeed, is there now an argument that there is so much golf worldwide that it deserves its own dedicated channel in the same way Formula 1 has on Sky. Golf is almost a fifty two week per year phenomenon with an event somewhere in the world most weeks. I'm sure they would be able to produce a raft of programmes, educational, instructional and entertaining to fill the slots in between.

We were perhaps spoilt a few years ago with such a dedicated channel on the ill fated Setanta platform. It seems to function well in the US with Golf Channel a big leader in coverage and as an entertainment source in its own right. Such features as the recent Masters Breakfast Show on Sky show that with careful thought and planning, a highlight package can be so much more than rehashed clips. Add in some detailed instructional shows for the millions of weekend players, perhaps reinventing shows like "Big Break" and maybe travel features and I feel Sky are on to a winner. Build it and they shall come.

The European Tour also has a TV presence with its own show, European Tour Weekly. There has to be an opportunity for both Sky and the Tour hierarchy to get together and make programmes to develop the European Tour profile, perhaps taking some of the features that are crammed into the thirty minute ETW slot and making them dedicated programmes for scheduling on the stand alone Sky Golf Channel should it come to fruition. Of course this all comes down to economics, not only in terms of cash but of scale and I'm sure Sky and the Tour have looked at the prospect of a dedicated channel. In the meantime, it seems that the viewer will have to make do with just the 4400 hours of coverage and 200 events per year flashed through to our living rooms. Tough I know but I'm sure I'll cope somehow.