Old World gold

By Matt Slater
Golf editor

Imagine a sporting universe where the biggest pay-day of Glenn Hoddle's playing career is Spurs against Arsenal in an indoor six-a-side "masters" competition.

Or where Will Carling is still getting playing time for Harlequins in the hope of staying sharp for his lucrative tilt at "legends" rugby union.

That universe exists - it's called seniors golf.

Irwin has won more than $22m on the US seniors tour

Take, for example, Hale Irwin.

The 60-year-old American won 20 events, including two US Opens, in 27 years on the main tour - a career that brought him earnings of just under $6m.

Having reached 50, the spritely Irwin took the not unreasonable step of joining the US seniors tour.

Ten years and 41 wins later, he has banked nearly $22.5m in "Champions Tour" earnings.

Now it will surprise none of you that Europe's greying golfers have heard about this senior citizen Shangri-la, and want some of it over here.

The European Seniors Tour, in case you missed it, has actually been going for 13 years.

It started in 1992 with 10 events and has been slowly - this is seniors golf, after all - been gathering momentum ever since.

It may not have reached Champions Tour proportions just yet, but the circuit has grown to 21 events across 14 different countries.

With a number of major winners turning 50 in the next three years - players like Ballesteros, Faldo, Langer, Lyle and Woosnam - the progress of this tour should be assured Andy Stubbs European Seniors Tour

And now, with Europe's "golden generation" approaching veteran status, the tour is set to close the earnings gap with America.

Andy Stubbs, the managing director of the European Seniors Tour, is convinced seniors golf is about to take off on this side of the pond.

"We are proud of the growth of the tour," he said. "At the Senior British Open in July we saw Tom Watson beat Des Smyth in a play-off and Greg Norman finish third.

"Since then, Sam Torrance has won the PGA Seniors Championship, Eduardo Romero the British Senior Masters and, most recently, Mark James beat Sam in a play-off at Woburn to capture the European Senior Masters.

"All these tournaments were huge successes and Mark, Des and Eduardo have all indicated a desire to play more on the European Seniors Tour next year.

"'Jesse' (James) came back from the US to find a tour that is thriving. He was amazed by the size of the crowds at Woburn and increasing spectator levels will in turn help to push up prize money.

There's definitely a market for seniors golf here - it's just a time thing Sam Torrance

"These are exciting times and with a number of major winners turning 50 in the next three years - players like Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam - the continued progress of this competitive but friendly tour should be assured."

Stubbs could be on to something, but he knows it will require the regular involvement of most if not all of those big names to make it happen.

Every Champions Tour event is televised in the US, only three European Seniors Tour events are in the UK. The crowds are bigger in the States too, and the sponsors have to dig that little bit deeper.

That Stubbs should mention James is revealing. The 1999 European Ryder Cup captain is a full-time member of the Champions Tour and only an occasional visitor to the European Seniors Tour.

James, 21st on the American money list, has earned £416,614 over there in 2005. That is two and a half times as much as Torrance, the leading earner in Europe this season with £175,216.

The money leader on the Champions Tour, Dana Quigley, has added £1,115,355 to his pension pot. And there are 49 other players on the American tour that have earned more than Torrance this season.

James has earned £416,614 on the Champions Tour in 2005

Prize money is bigger in the US for the under-50s too, but the difference is much smaller. Colin Montgomerie's Order of Merit leading winnings would be good enough for 10th on the American list.

But Torrance, who has tried both the American and European seniors tours, is not overly concerned by the current disparity.

"We've just got to keep building it up. Good players will come on the tour, new sponsors will come in - it just rolls along," he said.

"It's very similar to the way it was when I started on the main European Tour in 1972. We built that up gradually too.

"There's definitely a market for seniors golf here. It's just a time thing. It will get better every year."

The example of the main European Tour's growth would suggest that Torrance is right, and as the seniors circuit adds new dates in "European" venues such as Egypt and Bahrain it appears to be following the same route.

But much depends on where the likes of Ballesteros and Faldo want to play their seniors golf.

If it's over here, Sam and the boys can look forward to salad days for years to come. Over there and the European Seniors Tour will remain something Sky shows in the "Masters Football" off-season.