Tour Pro HITS OUT at Sky Sports Golf over "battling for card" comments
Earlier this season, the European Tour stated that it will implement a "safety net" for the players who fail to finish inside the top 110 on the Race to Dubai standings.
Tour professional Ryan Campbell has hit out at the pundits on Sky Sports Golf over comments made about players who ply their trade on minor tours to try and achieve their European Tour card.
Campbell took issue with the punditry team who commented on players "battling" for their cards on the European Tour, even though in his opinion, the door has been slammed in their face.
The European Tour stated earlier this month that it will implement a "safety net" for the players who fail to finish inside the top 110 on the Race to Dubai standings.
Really wish @SkySportsGolf pundits and commentators would stop banging on about players “battling for a card” nobody on @EuropeanTour right now is battling for a card because they’ve slammed the door in the face of anyone looking to get there any time soon
— Ryan Campbell (@Rhinoprogolfer) July 3, 2021
In this 2021 season, European Tour players are competing with rankings that were "frozen" from the previous year as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Many players were unable to play in every event and unfortunately, this is still the case for some players which has caused further problems.
After a survey that saw 204 members vote, the European Tour decided not to freeze the 2021 rankings heading into next season and instead, implement a "safety net".
This will provide security for players who do not finish in the top 110 in the Race to Dubai rankings as they will be exempt for the 2022 season.
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To fulfil the "safety net", there will be no Q-school so no current ranked member will lose their membership. The ones who finish outside the top 110 will be re-ranked based on the 2021 Race to Dubai and won't be relegated downwards.
The absence of the Q-school is the main issue that players such as Campbell are facing in minor tours such as the PGA EuroPro Tour and the Challenge Tour.
Campbell's main concern appears to be that players who would have lost their cards on the European Tour will be allowed to play in big events, while players like him are being deprived of the chance to break into the European Tour.
