Do players have a responsibility to support the European Tour by playing the BMW PGA?

Rory won't be teeing it up at the event he won in 2014

The BMW PGA Championship is the European Tour’s flagship event. It offers the highest prize money available in Europe, with €5 million up for grabs. It’s hosted at one of the world’s most exclusive golf clubs and boasts attendances of over 100,000 across the week. You’d think players would be jumping at the chance to play in it, especially Europeans.

So why do so many of the European Tour’s star golfers decide to give it a miss? 

This year, Louis Oosthuizen, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Branden Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter will all be staying away from Wentworth during next week’s BMW PGA. 

“I know some fans will be disappointed that I’m not playing at Wentworth,” says Ian Poulter, who didn’t play last year. “Notoriously the greens aren’t very good that time of year, and it throws my stroke off. And my stroke is coming back. Sorry, but I have to be selfish and play on a course that suits me.”

Poulter may not be alone in his dislike of the course.

Henrik Stenson finished seventh in 2014, but failed to return last year.

“It’s for a couple of reasons,” says the 40-year-old Swede. “One is that I’ve never done any good here. There is a point where you say to yourself, ‘I know it’s a big and important week but if you’re struggling on the golf course and you can’t quite figure it out, should you just keep banging your head against the wall trying to get better?’.”

Rory McIlroy won the event in 2014 but missed the cut last year, and has decided to give it a miss this year to avoid overloading his schedule. “I’m not going to have more than a week off [at a time] until after the Ryder Cup in October,” says the world number three. 

Big names choosing not to compete is a blow to the event and to the European Tour, but it is also a shame for spectators, most of whom bought tickets before they knew that McIlroy and co wouldn’t be there to watch. 

But do fans have a right to be annoyed at players for making these decisions? Or do they have no one to answer to but themselves? We asked TG fans on Facebook and Twitter for their views…

What do YOU think? Do players have a responsibility to support the European Tour’s flagship event?