Money talks as Euro stars opt for the Orient

THE European Tour and sponsors, the Andalucian Tourist Board, must have been furious the Andalucian Masters was bypassed by many marquee names in favour of the Shanghai Masters.

That Chinese event is not recognised by any of the game’s major Tours and accordingly didn’t carry any world ranking, European Tour Race to Dubai or Ryder Cup points.

However, the lure of the mighty dollar — the event in China carried a prize fund of $5m (€3.5m), with $2m (€1.42m) for the winner, and substantial appearance money for the elite 30-strong field — proved too great for a number of Europe’s finest.