Top-class professional golf has proved an irresistible magnet for sponsorship from the financial services and motor industries during the past two decades. In theory it should be one of the first sports to suffer during the global economic downturn.

The European Tour, with its tournament venues stretching from the UK to Australia, and the North American-based US PGA Tour have announced their playing schedules for 2009. On the surface, neither appears to be affected by the cold winds of recession. But look a little closer and there is no room for complacency.