One of the great and valuable lessons in life is to learn from your mistakes. Repeating ill-fated plans or procedures is not only a clear sign of stubbornness, but it also strongly suggests that the most capable businesspeople may not be in charge. In a period of rapid and profound change on the PGA Tour, much of it was driven by the existence of LIV Golf. They have now decided what the future looks like, and it feels familiar and soft. The details of the structure of the new Designated Events are disappointing and it didn’t have to be this way.
For all the hand wringing and public sniping at and about Greg Norman by many top players in the world he has been the impetus for two significant shifts in men’s professional golf in the last 25 years. First, his desire to create a world tour in the late 90’s was squashed from within and from it came the World Golf Championship Series. It was more like the United States Golf Championship Series and another country to be named later. It produced the coming together of more top players beyond the four majors and a few other elite events, and re-introduced no cut events to men’s professional golf after they disappeared from the game almost altogether once television and Sunday finishes became the norm. There are still a few no cut events, mostly composed of very short fields, like the Tournament of Champions and the Tour Championship, and now with shorter fields in the FedEx Cup playoff events you can add them to the list. World Golf Championships were no cut events with smaller fields generally 78 players and the match play event was 64 players with a bracket that eventually eliminated the best Wednesday in golf. There is very little competition for that title but the jeopardy of 32 players being eliminated on the first day was great television. The problem that the tour and its sponsors argued is that stars were being bounced early more often than top-seeded teams coached by Rick Barnes. (Just a reminder to all you Tennessee fans that the reckoning is coming. It’s what Rick does.) So even the mildly confrontational match play event took on the softness of the other stroke events in the series. Furthermore, the small field, no cut formula that is being reported will be the construct of the designated events in 2024 and it smells all too similar to LIV Golf… minus the shotgun starts with optional transfusions and cargo shorts.
The Tour is at the mercy to a great degree to the wishes of their stars and their stars have the “hand”. As was famously said in an exchange between George Costanza and his girlfriend in an episode of Seinfeld as George was trying to display his power in the relationship. “But I have hand!!!” he pleaded. Her dismissive response was, “and you’re going to use it”. Not exactly the predicament the players face today. They truly control the direction of the tour because of all the leverage they’ve gained from the presence of LIV offers. But the players are missing part of the plot. Yes, people tune in for the stars and their engagement with each other propel the big interest in the sport. However, the sport will always need to keep the door open for the underdog. The underdog has always woven their own thread through the history of great moments, especially in the biggest events. When Max Homa won the Wells Fargo championship, and outplayed Rory McIlroy playing with him in 2019, he was ranked 417th in the world rankings. He would not be in the field under the new make-up of the designated events of which Wells Fargo is one this year. Homa is now a top 10 player in the world and the belief and sense of belonging started there. It’s not to say that his ascension would not have still happened, but that beginning was memorable because it was on a huge stage. Ultimately talent will never be denied if it is matched with commitment and drive but the realization on the biggest stages are what sports have always been about.
Stars deserve the most money and now more than ever the biggest stars and best players are getting paid the lion share of the purses all the way down to the Player Impact Program (PIP), which is a glorified Q rating with an algorithm. The PGA Tour is championship golf. They had the opportunity to split the difference between the frivolity of 54 holes, no cuts and shotguns and maintain the edge of bonafide fields with at least a hundred players and the jeopardy of a 36-hole cut. Instead, they’ve opted for, what at first blush, feels more like a cool speak-easy with a secret handshake and the top players get to play with the house’s chips.