Thomastown, Ireland ? Umbrellas were in, sunglasses out. Fans walked about Mount Juliet in golf shoes with metal spikes, something only seen (and heard) in Europe. No one in the gallery was drinking beer at 9 a.m. and screaming “Get in the hole!” when someone teed off on a par 5.

Take away the $7 million purse, and the American Express Championship felt like a European tour event.

And it’s not much different when the World Golf Championships come to the United States. Even with the inflated prize money, it’s getting hard to distinguish between them and most other PGA Tour events.

Ernie Els earned $1.2 million for winning his first World Golf Championships at Mount Juliet.

Sergio Garcia got nearly $1.05 million for winning his first Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas.

“They’re like big American events,” Nick Faldo said. “The problem is, there are so many good events in America worth $5-to-$6 million, that to jump on a plane and fly here for $7 million is ‘whoop-dee-doo.’ It’s almost like they need to make these $15 million to get everyone’s attention.”

It didn’t help when six players from the top 50 decided not to play for a variety of reasons, most of them sound.

Nick Price stayed home because Hurricane Jeanne was on its way as his family still was recovering from Frances. Vijay Singh checked out when he found his Florida home without power from the hurricane (several players figured it was the Fijian who was out of gas from winning so much).

Phil Mickelson pulled out for “personal reasons,” although he’s playing this week in Las Vegas.

Ernie Els holds the trophy after winning the World Golf Championships on Sunday in Thomastown, Ireland. Some top tour pros skipped the event, which has become stale in just its sixth year on the PGA Tour schedule.

Something needs to be done to resurrect the World Golf Championships, which just finished its sixth official season and already has become stale.

“We just have a few issues that need to be corrected,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.

Money isn’t the answer, although an argument can be made.

When the World Golf Championships began in 1999, the prize money was $5 million with $1 million going to the winner, the only seven-figure payoff at an official tournament. The only events that offered more than $3 million in prize money were the majors, The Players Championship and the Tour Championship.

Now, there are 25 tournaments worth at least $5 million, and 11 players already have cashed checks worth at least $1 million (with one more to go at the Tour Championship).

Why go to Ireland for a chance to win $1.2 million when a player can almost get that much in Dallas?

“I honestly don’t think money is the factor that will drive intensity,” Finchem said. “It’s what players hear about the tournaments, how fans feel about them. The fans want to hear it’s an important tournament.”

The courses haven’t helped.

Tiger Woods lines up a putt on the sixth green at Mount Juliet. Woods, shown Sunday in Thomastown, Ireland, competed at the World Golf Championships, unlike some fellow top golfers.

A year ago, the American Express was played at Capital City Club north of Atlanta, so far in the middle of nowhere that watching for the blimp was the easiest way to find the course. Mount Juliet is hidden in southeastern Ireland, two hours from both Dublin and Galway.

Finchem has reason to be optimistic.

It will be held at Harding Park in San Francisco next year, and outside London at The Grove in 2006. Those are cities that can get enthused about any golf, let alone one that brings together (most of) the world’s best players.

Finchem also says he would like to get back to Bellerive in St. Louis, which was shaping up as the grandest of WGC events until the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks canceled the tournament.

“If you’re going to try to make this stand out in the fall, everything has to be a hit,” Finchem said. “You have to have a golf course everyone is excited about. There needs to be some intensity, not just competitively, but also in terms of the feel of the event.”

Creating a buzz is no small task, and Finchem only can hope it helps.

Since the commissioner is accused of stealing the idea of a World Golf Championships from Greg Norman, perhaps he should go back to the Shark’s original concept of small fields for only the elite players.

The NEC Invitational at Firestone began as a tournament for only Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup players. When too many players complained they were being left out, the NEC added the top 50 in the world ranking and certain tournament winners, nearly doubling the size of the field.

“I’m a big believer that the best players in the world have to get some perks. I believed that even when I wasn’t in the NEC,” said Brad Faxon, who last played in a cup in 1997. “Too many players complained about it. Well, tough luck.”