DUBLIN - The Memorial has come a long way since its inception three decades ago, mostly because the players have traveled a long way to get here. They come from every continent where golf is played, representing 15 countries.

Then again, it's like that just about every week on the PGA Tour.

That's good news for Tim Finchem, commissioner of the richest and most powerful golf tour in the world.

It is becoming a problem for George O'Grady, commissioner of a European Tour that is losing its players, if not its identity.

The Wales Open this week has but one of the top 10 players in the world - Retief Goosen - and four of the top 50. Most of the European-born stars are at Muirfield Village, from Luke Donald to Paul Casey, from Sergio Garcia to Jose Maria Olazabal. The Irish Open wasn't much better, coming one week after The Players Championship.

“We're not in conflict with the PGA Tour,” O'Grady said ast week at the BMW Championship, the flagship event on the European Tour. “The PGA Tour opened their doors to the best golfers in the world, made them welcome.”

And those players gladly walked through the door.

That's worth keeping in mind during a U.S.-Europe competition that is becoming far more compelling than the Ryder Cup.