For all that the immediate future remains unknown – save for the fact that Pelley will remain with the tour until April to try to help see the negotiations with the PGA Tour, the PIF and the SSG through to a conclusion – the perennial problem facing the DP World Tour (what was the European Tour) is unlikely to change.
While all the golfers moving from Europe to the PGA Tour will have played in America before, staying for long periods of time is not quite the same as popping in and out.
Bogey-free, the 38-year-old South African strolled round Royal St George’s in a nifty six-under par 64 to claim the early lead in the 149th Open Championship.