With More Exclusive 'Signature Events,' the PGA Tour Is Losing Its Identity
It’s do-it-yourself week at The Ranking. Place these thoughts on golf in the order you think they belong … which may or may not include a shredder:
> The new PGA Tour schedule can be described in one word: Greed. The same players who ripped LIV Golf for having a small field (48) and no cut and arguing that’s why LIV shouldn’t get world ranking points are the same ones who can’t wait to play in the 70- or 80-player Elevated Events with no cuts. How is that markedly different from LIV Golf? Maybe Elevated Events shouldn’t get world ranking points, either.
> Also, the PGA Tour wants us to call the Elevated Events, previously known as Designated Events, now "Signature Events." They will remain as Elevated Events in this column. End of debate.
> Pro golf just gave up its greatest advantage over every other professional sport. It is—sorry, was—a true meritocracy. You got only what you earned. No guaranteed money. Golf’s mantra was “just play better” and all problems are solved. The idea of making most of the Elevated Events no-cut helps make them less interesting. Not even Tiger Woods is in favor of a no-cut concept and he argued against it, apparently successfully, for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, an event he hosts. But in order to win back the PGA Tour players who were outraged by commissioner Jay Monahan’s cave-in and the deal to take on the Saudis as business partners, the Tour’s strategy is clearly to throw even more money at the players. It’ll probably work.
> Elevated Events with smaller fields are inherently less interesting. There is less movement on the leaderboard and the no-cut rule eliminates any sense of urgency. Just like LIV Golf, the guaranteed check morphs an actual golf tournament into a necessary appearance with what amounts to an appearance fee for the trouble. Big fields of 144 or 156 provide way more Cinderella stories, more players who have a hot round and jump into contention. It’s just harder to beat 144 players than it is 70 players.
There will be 16 Elevated Events in 2024, almost 40% of the Tour’s schedule (including the majors, Players and playoffs). This is starting to look like what LIV Golf commissar Greg Norman wanted back in the mid-'90s—a super tour of the top 30 or 40 playing around the world for big money. These top events will minimize the Tour's other events, which may start to seem like Korn Ferry Tour events, no offense to the KFT players.
As former U.S. Open champion and recent Wyndham winner Lucas Glover told Golfweek, “It feels like the toothpaste is out of the tube. “Some of the guys who were pushing for 70 are now backtracking a little bit. We’re touting ourselves as the best tour in the world, so why wouldn’t you reward the best 125 guys and let them play in your biggest events. Same with the elevated events. You finish 125th on the best tour in the world, and you’re in one elevated event, the Players. That’s silly to me. It doesn’t make any sense.”
What are golf’s top players afraid of? They’ve already got the guaranteed money now. They’ve got more money than they could ever spend, many of them. Why exclude potentially half the field from a big-money event? Are they afraid of the competition? Are they looking for a free ride? Are they greedy beyond comprehension? It’s embarrassing.
> About the ball: The PGA Tour isn’t going to play ball. So said Commissar Monahan. He has already said the proposed rollback in bifurcation of the ball being considered by the U.S. Golf Association and the R&A, golf’s governing bodies, will not be followed by the Tour. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy support the rollback but they seem to be a minority opinion among players, whose understandable self-interests make them worry about losing a competitive edge with a proportional rollback.
Not every course has the resources and the available space as Augusta National to substantially lengthen its layout to keep up with ever-longer hitters. The 520-yard par-4 is now a staple in golf. Saying no to the rollback may mean golf’s major championships will be the only time a reduced-distance ball will be used. The Tour bolting could potentially lead to a whole new world golf governing body. What other rules will the PGA Tour decide not to follow? Who’s going to administer them? The Tour’s decision to stiff the rollback reeks of arrogance. The message it sends is clear: Tour players feel they are above the rules.
> The PGA Tour last dodged a bullet regarding it’s tax-exempt status in the 1990s when it lobbied heavily and extensively to keep its sacred standing. The Tour has a lot of money in the bank for a tax-exempt organization. At least, that’s the way a lot of anti-business Congress members see it. On the other hand, recent hearings have shown those elected officials aren’t geniuses. This time, the Tour’s tax-exempt standing may actually be in jeopardy.
> Call it irony, call it just business. The first Tiger Woods golf shoe marketed by Nike in 2013 was re-released earlier this year and a new color flavor was added to the lineup, a gray-light blue combination. The irony? Woods has been seen wearing FootJoys this year … if you can remember back to when he still played golf.