Homecoming Rose Gives Europe Edge in Tiff of Tours

In the never-ending contest for prestige and status between the European Tour and its American counterpart, the PGA Tour, the home side scored a small but significant victory yesterday when Justin Rose declared his intention to play more tournaments on this side of the Atlantic - a decision brought on by the European Tour's success in attracting vast sums in sponsorship from the Dubai royal family.

Next year will see the Road to Dubai ranking system replace the old order of merit, which will qualify the top finishers for the end-of-season Dubai World Championship and the chance to play for $20m (£10m), the largest prize fund in golf. "I'll probably focus more on the European side of things, maybe add a couple more [events]," said the Florida-based Englishman, who is making a rare visit to his home country to play in this week's BMW PGA Championship.

"It makes perfect sense, with the tour now having this relationship [with Dubai]. I've always enjoyed playing that part of the world. At the end of 2006 I played in Japan and Australia and I realized that I missed the traveling, the sense of adventure - playing all around the world rather than just in America."

The world No11's decision could not have come at a better moment for those in charge at the European Tour's headquarters at Wentworth who, the generosity of the Dubai government notwithstanding, have been struggling to attract sponsors closer to home, in places such as Ireland and continental Europe. It will help the cause that they can count on the support of a player of Rose's quality.

Of course, it would be an even greater help if other leading players were to follow his example. Phil Mickelson recently floated the idea of joining the European Tour, while John Daly, who is currently without a PGA card and in the doghouse with the US tour over his off-course behavior, is another obvious candidate. The ultimate prize, naturally, would be more regular appearances from Tiger Woods.

The world No1 has supported some European Tour events through the years, most notably in Dubai, where he is paid a reported $3m appearance fee. But he has cut back on the number of events he has played globally in the last couple of seasons, and it seems unlikely he would extend his workload for the sake of winning the Dubai World Championship. After all, it is not as if he needs the money.

Much will depend on a pending decision by the European Tour's players committee over the minimum number of tournaments anyone needs to play to gain membership of the tour. Currently, the figure stands at 11. A proposal to move that to 13 events would end any hope of attracting the biggest American names.

It makes for an interesting few months off the course for the European Tour, although for the moment the attention will focus on the PGA Championship which has long been the tour's flagship event and, as such, has never had any problems attracting a big sponsorship and a top-class field.

This year is no different, with every serious contender for a place in Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup side seeking the £597,000 winner's check. That is good money by any standard but, even better, it will secure a place on the flight to Kentucky.