Imagine getting a canvas painted by, say, Michelangelo, and allowing someone to add some of their own brushstrokes? It hardly bares thinking about. In a way, that is what has happened to the West Course here, with Ernie Els touching-up the old work of Harry Colt. Yet, it would seem to have worked, with hardly a bad word to be heard from any of the 150 players who set out today in pursuit of the BMW PGA Championship, the European Tour's flagship event. writes Philip Reidat Wentworth
Although this PGA has a prize fund of €4.35 million, it is no longer the richest tournament on the European circuit. Not alone do the majors and the World Golf Championships, as you'd expect, have bigger purses, but it has fallen behind the Scottish Open in the pecking order in terms of finance, if not in its historical importance.
All you have to do is look at the various clubs donated by past champions, from putters to drivers, that line the clubhouse walls to know that this is a coveted title.
"You know, it means a lot more than anything else on the tour. You can see it. It's grown steadily (in stature) every year, it definitely has taken a step in the right direction," said Thomas Bjorn.
The championship's drawing power is proven by the strength of this week's field: five of the world's top-10 - Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Henrik Stenson, Retief Goosen and Luke Donald - are playing.
And there is an eight-strong Irish challenge, headed by Padraig Harrington, ranked 11th in the world, who of course is seeking back-to-back wins after his play-off victory over Bradley Dredge in the Irish Open.
Harrington is joined by Darren Clarke - who these days has some sort of health warning on any backyard adventures after his latest escapades in an off-road buggy - who hasn't completed a tournament since the Malaysian Open in early February. Paul McGinley, Graeme McDowell, Gary Murphy, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton are also playing, all seeking to become the first Irish winner of this great championship since Harry Bradshaw in 1958.
When this was pointed out to Harrington, it brightened his day.
"We ended a 25-year hoodoo on Sunday, and now you have one stretching back 49 years? That should keep you happy. Maybe it's what I need," he quipped.
The reality is that the tour's flagship tournament has a grand history, but, to be honest, it has produced - apart from David Howell last year - an unlikely list of recent champions since the new millennium.
Andrew Oldcorn. Anders Hansen. Ignacio Garrido. Scott Drummond. All triumphed over the Burma Road course inside the past half-a-decade, and indeed those wins in part prompted the changes that were first in evidence a year ago.
Els has since carried out more tweaking, adding bunkers and length to stretch the course to 7,320 yards.
"The harder the golf course, the more it usually separates the field. I like the changes," conceded Donald, while Harrington - once so disillusioned with the over-seeding of the poa annua greens that he bypassed the tournament for two straight years - believes that Els's toughening of the course "definitely suits me more, and I'm happy about that. Let's say, I like it tee to green."
For this week, Harrington has a slightly altered putter in his bag in the hope that he can have some good fortune on the greens. He still has the Odyssey two-ball putter with the Torpedo shaft, but the putter face is different - three-degrees loft - and the weight in the shaft is fixed. Time will tell if he can get his head around the vagaries of the greens here at this time of year.
"This is another tournament that I really would like to win, maybe not quite as much as the Irish Open, but it is now next on the list after winning the Irish Open," he said.
Just as Harrington was at Adare Manor last week, the man who carries the mantle of favouritism and expectations into Wentworth is Els. Not only did he carry out the tweaking, which has toughened the course, he also lives on the estate in leafy Surrey.
"We didn't want to make a mockery of the place," said Els of the changes, adding: "I think the changes make it more up-to-date. You've got to be more accurate off the tee. You've got to shape your shots into the greens."
Wentworth's West Course is not for everyone. Harrington doesn't like it at this time of year, yet loves it in October when the world matchplay is played (when there is no over-seeding). Retief Goosen has had only two top-10s in 14 attempts. Vijay Singh has the same number in 11. Henrik Stenson's best finish is 19th (last year) and Luke Donald's best finish is 18th. Ian Poulter has missed five cuts from seven appearances.
What does it all mean? That this course doesn't always give what you expect, that surprises abound. Perhaps Els's work will make it less of a lottery.
