Guardian: "Golf sponsors happy to pay but appearance fees can distort sport"

Appearance fees seem like less of an issue than they used to be for the European Tour.

But as The Guardian's Ewan Murray notes in dissecting their current place in the game, still very much on the minds of some and having an impact on schedules or motivation to win the Race To Dubai.

Nonetheless, the situation raises questions. It seems fair to ask what standard of field would participate in Turkey were enticement not given to stellar names. If the answer is that the competition would become the domain of only lower-grade golfers, does that not undermine its Rolex status? There is also an ethical argument regarding why golfers, or any sportspeople of a certain financial level, should be paid simply to appear. In many ways, this surely contradicts the ethos of sport, albeit that such a point could be applied to money’s tight grasp of football, tennis and so many other enterprises.