“It is all becoming a bit old hat"

I couldn't find this mentioned anywhere else, but you can see where Neil Squires of the Daily Express is basing these comments regarding the Euro Tour's "Race to Dubai":

The billionaire backers behind the European Tour’s Race to Dubai are considering everything from floodlit tournaments and new team events to numbers on the back of shirts as part of their drive to make the sport more relevant to the next generation.

There is a price to pay for accepting £50 million of oil money and the European Tour’s decision to get into bed with Leisurecorp, the sporting arm of the Dubai government, could well have ramifications beyond merely side-stepping the credit crunch. The kaleidoscope will be shaken when the first Race to Dubai begins at the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in a month’s time. The pieces may take some time to settle but when they do golf’s landscape could be changed markedly.

“Our ambition is not necessarily to change the format of golf but to enhance it and make it more relevant to the next generation,” said David Spencer, the chief executive of Leisurecorp. “It is all becoming a bit old hat – there have to be new things to make it more colourful. You have to chase the dream. You have to believe anything is possible.

Naturally, he is right that golf needs some new formats. But numbers on the back of shirts? Maybe that's why Seve passed out?

Meanwhile this Scotsman story buries one observation of note regarding venues on the newly announced schedule:

Ten events have still to confirm venues, including the British Masters. However, O'Grady insisted that in spite of the financial downturn 98 per cent of the 2009 schedule was rock solid.

Here is the schedule.