Shotgun Start: The great cart debate, Euro idea and Arizona vs. Spain

CBSSports.com staffers Steve Elling and Ross Devonport take a scattershot look at three compelling and timely topics in the game.

1. The electric-cart debate is likely to be digested anew this week with the participation of journeyman pro Erik Compton in the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School in Key Biscayne, Fla. Compton, who recently received a second heart transplant, has been cleared to use a cart for obvious medical reasons. Do either of you feel strongly about whether carts should be allowed under any circumstances?
Steve Elling	Ross Devonport
You have to be a heartless S.O.B. not to feel for Compton, who has been battling to gain traction on the PGA Tour and is well known and liked. But relating to the decade-old Casey Martin argument of players with medical issues getting a cart, I lean toward the side of Jack Nicklaus, who believes walking is part of the centuries-old game -- heck, it's the only actual activity in a decidedly non-athletic sport. The tour should be able to make and enforce its own rules. I don't recall former MLB pitcher Jim Abbott getting special consideration when he was hitting because he was born with one hand. I practically detest myself for saying it, and am trying to think with my head and not my heart, but I don't think the Supreme Court made the right call on the Martin case. Thankfully, the issue hasn't come up much.	Despite the fact I come from a country where you walk on almost every course instead of taking carts like you lazy Americans, I think any player on tour who has a severe enough disability should be able to use a cart and play. Anything that helps more players get a shot at making it to the big show is fine in my book. While I agree that having a cart, especially at events where the temperature or terrain are a factor, might provide a slight advantage to a golfer, having a disability like Casey Martin's leg problems or Erik Compton's heart condition surely overrides that advantage. Look at the plight of disabled runner Oscar Pistorious. He was cleared to run against able-bodied athletes, despite the fact he has blades instead of lower legs.

2. Next month in China, the European Tour will roll out its version of a seasonal chase with the Race to Dubai, which culminates with the biggest purse in golf next fall in the United Arab Emirates. With the issues the PGA Tour has faced in making the FedEx Cup workable, are points races in golf a good idea?
Steve Elling	Ross Devonport
That's at the fore of the inherent beauty, and simplicity, of the Euro Tour plan. There are no points, per se. It's all about the money list, as it has been throughout the history of professional golf -- and always should be. There are no confusing points like here. The top 60 on the money list qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship, which features a $10 million purse and a $10 million bonus awarded to those who finish in the top 15 on the money list. Simple, no? At first blush, the U.S. tour's plan, about to be overhauled yet again, lags behind the season-long races of the European and LPGA circuits. The races work when executed properly and kept in proper context.	Yeah, I mean, doesn't the PGA Tour already have a season-ending tournament that you previously had to finish in the top 30 on the money list to qualify for? It's the Tour Championship. I understand your country's obsession with playoffs because, hell, we even have it in rugby now over in England, but I'm a bigger fan of a player getting rewarded for a season-long effort instead of doing what Camilo Villegas did this season (even though I prefer head-to-head Fantasy games over Rotisserie!). The Tour simply tried to over-think things with this FedEx Cup debacle. Simple is always better, trust me. You confuse people and you're done.

3. The Frys.com Open this week in suburban Phoenix should feature one of the better Fall Series fields, given that a slew of PGA Tour players live in the area. But so will the Castello Masters in Spain, which is being played at Sergio Garcia's home course. Which interests you more?
Steve Elling	Ross Devonport
I will keep tabs on both, because it's my job, but the Euro event is way more interesting for a variety of reasons. Garcia, whose parents run the host club, recruited a stellar field that includes Justin Rose, Angel Cabrera, Henrik Stenson, Paul Casey and Camilo Villegas -- more firepower than at any U.S. event this time of year. It will also be interesting to see how the illness of Seve Ballesteros is handled, since he's fighting for his life in a Madrid hospital, and if it overshadows the Garcia storyline. Then again, there's something to be said for watching the string of rookie winners (who have won two of the past three fall events) on the PGA Tour. Given that golf is nearing the end of a long season, surrounded by the World Series, college football and the NFL, it should be a darned good week for TV watching.	I shudder to think what the television numbers have been like for the Fall Series so far, as I must admit I haven't watched one minute of one tournament yet. Yes, I know I write about golf on occasion, but I'm also a Fantasy writer and we have three sports either going on right now -- the NFL and the NHL -- or getting ready to start its season -- the NBA -- so things are a little nuts over here. I'm going to say the Castello Masters interests me more simply because the race for the Order of Merit title (top money-winner on the European Tour) is still up in the air, even if the top three guys aren't playing this week in Spain. Plus, I can watch the thing as soon as I get up and not in the middle of my busy weekend afternoons.