Why Giles Morgan Whining Was the Greatest Story of the WGC-HSBC Champions

By Ben Alberstadt
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 6, 2012

Perhaps you saw Ian Poulter pour in his par putt on the final hole at Mission Hills yesterday for his first victory of 2012 and thought, “Surely, this must be the defining story of the tournament!”

Not so.

Mr. Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship at HSBC, secured that distinction on Wednesday before the tournament even started with his whiny lamentation which began, “We are delighted to have 13 of the world’s top 20 here, but of course we’re disappointed not to have the two top players in the world.”

The villain, if there is one, is appearance fees—more specifically, the fact that such fees are not permitted at PGA Tour-sanctioned events. As such, both McIlroy and Woods elected to play in an 18-hole exhibition match on October 29 at Jinsha Lake for a reported $3 million in combined appearance fees.

For his part, Poulter won $1.2 million for his victory at the meaningless four-round WGC-HSBC. Assuming a minimum of one day of practice and preparation at the course, Poulter grossed just over a million dollars for five days of competitive golf. Tiger, on the other hand, made $2 million playing 18 holes of exhibition golf with his buddy Rory McIlroy.

If you found yourself in Tiger’s Nike TW 13s, which event would you play in?

The problem with Morgan’s statement is multifold. Firstly, he ought to be smart enough to hype the event he has and the strong field playing in it, rather than fixating on what’s lacking or taking to his soapbox. Additionally, he disrespects the “13 of world’s top 20” who played in the tournament by saying, essentially, “You guys are great, but you’re all playing second fiddle to Tiger and Rory.”

The fact that the previous is true from a marketing and sponsorship standpoint doesn’t entitle Morgan to actually say it.

As Geoff Shackelford notes, the year-round professional golf season and the prohibition on appearance fees in PGA Tour sanctioned events compel players to play fewer events internationally, and further, to tailor their schedules to accommodate tournaments which pay appearance fees. All of this, rather than the abstract “obligation to sponsors” which Morgan values, will dictate player schedules.

It’s simple economics and rational self-interest.

If Morgan wanted to make a stand, he should have used his bully pulpit to point out the absurdity of the fact that the PGA Tour’s puritanical stance on appearance fees compelled Rory and Tiger to play in a ludicrous exhibition spectacle rather than a legitimate Tour-sanctioned golf tournament and that such a system is ultimately detrimental to the game.

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

Latest News

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!