Stars unlikely to be lured back to Europe

THOSE of you watching the Spanish Open on Sky Sports on Sunday afternoon and the Shell Houston Open that evening would have got a good idea why more and more players are deserting the European Tour for the American circuit.

On the one hand, we had a course on the island of Tenerife that looked quite suitable for a game on a fun sun holiday but which looked miles short of the kind of lay-out required for an event offering more than stg£200,000 to the winner. Heavens above, the only rough was the lava dust lining each fairway; not alone was it not very easy on the eye but in fact offered perfect lies for those straying from the straight and narrow.

Fast forward, then, to the Redstone Golf Club at Humble, near Houston, where you feasted your eyes on the most beautifully manicured course possible, complete with lakes, ponds, streams, expertly shaped fairways, graded rough, colourful foliage and beautifully contoured greens. You name it, Redstone had it and remember, this was the first time it had ever hosted a US Tour event.