Golf: Spaniard may set sail for new world: Buoyant Ballesteros' bittersweet message to Europe. Tim Glover reports

SEVE BALLESTEROS began the week by resigning from the Ryder Cup committee and ended it not only on a victorious note but with a threat to play on the American Tour next year. 'It's a possibility,' he said. Asked why, he replied that his comments were meant as a 'message'. It was a bittersweet moment for the European Tour, which has been forewarned.

Ballesteros, recognised as Europe's pathfinder, was speaking from a position of strength following his victory in the Benson and Hedges International Open at St Mellion which, with a first prize of pounds 108,330, elevated him to the top of the Order of Merit. It was his 52nd victory in Europe, his 69th worldwide.

The prospect of playing in America early in the year is appealing, not only to Ballesteros but others like Jose-Maria Olazabal and Ernie Els. There is dissatisfaction at the strength of the early-season tournaments in Europe.

Ballesteros' message is that in America he would be playing on better courses in better weather and for more money. The leading Europeans have flirted with the US Tour before but have found that they cannot get the best of both worlds without playing in a minimum of 15 events in America and that is a commitment they are not prepared to take.

You could be forgiven for thinking that a victory for Ballesteros, his first since March 1992, in the first tournament in Britain this season, with Nick Faldo the runner-up and with the BBC in attendance would be the best possible news for the European Tour. But not only were they hit by Ballesteros's resignation from the Ryder Cup committee (the fact that Nova Sancti Petri, the course he is promoting, is not on the shortlist had something to do with it) but also by a discordant note from Faldo.

The world No 2 criticised the BBC's television coverage, particularly on Saturday evening when they pulled the plug before Ballesteros had completed the third round. 'We are going through a tough time at the moment and it's important for the Tour to sell itself. It's important for the game to be presented well. What happened wasn't fair to the sponsors, the Bond brothers (Hermon and Martin Bond own St Mellion) and the players.'

When told that the Benson and Hedges would return to St Mellion next year, Faldo replied: 'Brilliant. We can scream and shout and nothing happens.' St Mellion, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus, is particularly tough at this time of the year because the greens have not had the weather or the time to grow. Everybody concerned wants to move it to a later date and next year it may be held in September.

The fact is, with the tobacco industry under remorseless pressure, it was touch and go whether the tournament would take place at all. Faldo's comments would carry more weight were he to be seen giving the European Tour his full support. Apart from the Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket in Thailand in February, the Benson and Hedges International is the only event he has played on Tour.

Nor will Faldo play in the Spanish Open in Madrid this week nor the Italian Open the following week. He will have a session with his coach David Leadbetter and next week will play in Nicklaus's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Columbus, Ohio.

With the lack of a principal sponsor, the Tour is helping to underwrite the Italian Open while the European Open at East Sussex National in September is still looking for a backer to replace General Accident. There is also speculation that Bell's, which sponsors the Scottish Open at Gleneagles, will do so for the last time in July. Bell's used to enjoy massive coverage from BBC Scotland and now the event has been sold to Sky. What would undoubtedly help the European Tour is if its world-class players made more appearances for the sake of the game and less for the sake of appearance money which, of course, does not officially exist.

Meanwhile Ballesteros will have a spring in his step in the Spanish Open. He thinks he needs to win about another pounds 30,000 in order to remain in the top two in the Order of Merit by the end of the month, thereby qualifying for the US Open.

However, that may not be necessary. David Fay, executive director of the United States Golf Association, said yesterday: 'I have already passed the word of Seve's win to our championship committee and I am sure it will carry a great deal of weight. We would love to see Seve at Oakmont next month, but we were waiting for evidence that he has turned the corner in his comeback.

'Given the strength of the field at St Mellion I think he has gone a long way towards giving us that evidence.'

Britain's Laura Davies gained her seventh win on the US Women's Tour when she hit a final-round four-under-par 68 to win the Sara Lee Classic by one shot at Nashville.

(Photograph omitted)