Monique wrote:Gallant, even Hendry needed about 4 seasons to become a consistent winner. Trump is in his 7th season, and for all his talent only breaks through now. Selby needed even more time. Not all sports are the same and anyway money in golf doesn't compare to money in snooker. It's not about being mollycoddled. It's about making things possible in a reasonable way.
And I agree with you the main problem with the flat structure is indeed TV. If you look at my previous posts I already said it.
Another problem I can see is that in an individual sport the fans tend to build a "relationship" with their fav player(s). If players come and go and nobody actually is shown much on TV for any significant amount of time this will not be possible anymore and it might well damage the sport. It's part of the human nature to build those emotional links and it's part of the success of the sport to fulfill those needs. Be it about "teams" (there is a tribal side then as well) or individuals.
money in golf is relative to snooker though
theres far more guys trying to make it big in golf compared to snooker and the rewards are there for more but its a damn sight harder to be in the top 100 in golf than it is in snooker.
the tv issue with the flat structure isnt an issue at all
Nadal, Federer, Djokovic could all crash out in round 1 of Wimbledon easy enough and the tournament wouldnt die for the next 12 days
the current "elite" system just rewards a select few for no real reason other than their names, whilst the rest of the tour suffers as a result.
A level playing field will be a shock to start with for the big names and mid ranked journeymen, if they want it badly they will adapt and it will soon be the norm. If they aint good enough theyll truly get found out under the new system.
Who cares about the same old stale BIG names being through to the last 32, the PTCs prove that variety is good and its no coincidence that new stars emerge and do well in the PTC where its a fairer set up yet theyre nowhere to be seen in the rankers diue to the unfair protective teired system.
as for players needing x number of seasons to make it big, well most have to serve some sort of apprenticeship, thats the norm, young footballers etc any sport really you dont just turn 16 then become a pro and start winning bar a few freak exceptions.
but its no coincidence Trump suddenly rose to prominance as soon as the PTC and its fairer set up emerged and he grasped that opportunity they gave him and that competitive matchplay instead of practice also helped improve him in the main rankers.