Faldo Fumes, Says He Can’t Play 2 Tours

U.S. Masters champion Nick Faldo says that a PGA Tour decision to retain a rule requiring foreign players to take part in at least 15 events a year probably will force top European stars to focus more on the European tour and limit appearances in the United States.

“The U.S. Tour is a tough tour that advances your game, but you can’t do both (American and European) tours,” Faldo said while preparing to defend his title in the season-ending Volvo Masters tournament worth $1,040,000.

“I’ve tried to play both tours since 1981, and it can’t be done,” the Englishman said.

He added that the PGA decision will probably force such players as Spain’s Seve Ballesteros, Scot Sandy Lyle, German Bernhard Langer and himself to concentrate on European Tour events.

“The time has come to concentrate and build a schedule around the majors . . . but we won’t be able to have the buildup to the majors like a Curtis Strange has, so it’s got to hurt us,” Faldo said.

U.S. Tour Commissioner Deane Beman proposed reducing the minimum 15 U.S. tournaments a season, a move with which the PGA policy board agreed in principle.

The proposal, however, met with disapproval and hostility from the majority of the U.S. Tour membership.

“The top-level players on the U.S. tour were for us,” Faldo said, “but the middle and lower levels are much more numerous, and that is where the opposition comes from.

“And meetings with Beman can be frightening,” Faldo said. “You can’t begin to convince him with logic. You can hammer away at a theme for 10 minutes and think you got through to him, but later you find out that nothing really sunk in.

“I think that Europe’s success in winning the last three Ryder Cup matches has put the two Atlantic coasts a little farther apart from each other.”