LOS ANGELES — It was all going to be so excellent. It had stars. It had data. It had one of the crucial lovely levels in all of sports activities in prime time. It was imagined to be the PGA Tour’s massive day.
Two weeks in the past up in Pebble Seaside, Wyndham Clark shot a third-round 60 to interrupt the historic course’s document and take the lead on the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am. The tour couldn’t have drawn up a greater Sunday — in concept. It was the off week earlier than the Tremendous Bowl, which means it virtually had the sports activities calendar to itself. It made the event a signature occasion, which means certainly one of golf’s most iconic venues had all the perfect gamers on tour competing. And all of the sudden it had the reigning U.S. Open champ — the star of the brand new season of golf’s Netflix present, “Full Swing” — Clark going right into a Sunday duel with probably the most thrilling younger participant within the sport, Ludvig Åberg.
And it merely by no means occurred.
As an alternative, excessive climate halted play Sunday with flooding and knocked down timber throughout California. The course took a lot water over 5 days that the event couldn’t even be completed Monday. As an alternative of an exhilarating, star-studded prime-time end with everybody speaking about PGA Tour golf, the event ended with Clark’s Saturday 60 and a whimper.
This has been an odd six weeks for the tour. It’s within the thick of the perfect a part of its calendar earlier than the majors, and there’s an ongoing dialogue about whether or not the PGA Tour season is missing juice.
Nevertheless it would possibly simply have the Sunday it’s been ready for. On the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Nation Membership — which many take into account the perfect non-major on tour — the ultimate spherical is setting as much as get fascinating. It has No. 7 participant on the planet Patrick Cantlay with a two-shot lead. It has his good buddy and No. 5 golfer Xander Schauffele in second, tied with rising star Will Zalatoris again within the combine after lacking 2023 as a result of again surgical procedure. Throw in major-winner Jason Day and Ryder Cupper Harris English 4 again at an elite course, and this might be the Sunday that brings that juice.
About that juice, although.
It’s not likely anybody’s fault. It’s not even clear whether or not it’s true. However one thing unusual has been occurring. All six tournaments to this point have been gained by a protracted shot. Actually. They’ve been gained by the so-called randoms, the “mules,” as some within the golf world prefer to confer with them. Chris Kirk. Grayson Murray. Nick Dunlap. Matthieu Pavon. Wyndham Clark. Nick Taylor. All six have entered the event at odds of 100-1 or higher. 5 of the six entered the week outdoors of the Official World Golf Rating high 50. The one winner inside that high 50, Clark, gained with no last spherical.
PGA Tour Winners and pre-tournament beginning costs to start 2024:
Chris Kirk 100/1 Sentry
Grayson Murray 300/1 Sony
Nick Dunlap (a) 400/1 Amex
Matthieu Pavon 150/1 Farmers
Wyndham Clark 100/1 AT&T Pebble
Nick Taylor 100/1 WM Phoenix— Michael Verity (@MichaelVerity) February 12, 2024
It’s not even been unhealthy. A lot of the golf has been thrilling. One event was gained by a 20-year-old novice who staked his declare because the potential way forward for the game. Two have concerned heartwarming tales of overcoming adversity. Two have gone to a playoff! And final week in Phoenix became nationwide information because of the drunken crowds overrunning safety.
However, for higher or worse, this sport has develop into a enterprise run on backside strains. As wars go on between leagues and personal fairness corporations purchase in and all we hear about is scores, Participant Influence Applications and stars, there’s that debate over whether or not these outcomes have been an issue.
To recap: Chris Kirk (100-1) gained the signature occasion The Sentry in a low-scoring battle with stars like Sahith Theegala and Jordan Spieth. It wasn’t the best event, however Kirk’s win after taking day without work to cope with alcoholism and despair was an superior storyline. Every week later was extra of the identical. Grayson Murray (300-1) additionally had points with alcohol and psychological well being, even dealing with punishment from the PGA Tour years earlier, and gained in an exhilarating playoff thanks to 2 unimaginable photographs within the clutch. These weren’t stars, however most agreed these had been actually cool finishes.
Then, on the American Specific, which is certainly not an enormous event anticipating enormous fanfare, the 20-year-old defending U.S. Novice champ Nick Dunlap (400-1) took over the golf world by changing into the primary novice to win a PGA Tour occasion since Phil Mickelson 33 years earlier. This was gold.
Subsequent was 31-year-old Frenchman Matthieu Pavon (150-1) profitable at Torrey Pines. Then got here the climate mess of Pebble Seaside with the tour being robbed of its thrilling last spherical, which additionally led to extra of the golf world watching LIV’s last spherical in Mexico. And final week on the Waste Administration Open in Phoenix — identified for its loud, booze-filled ambiance — it had an exhilarating playoff end between Nick Taylor and 47-year-old Charley Hoffman. And even that was drowned out by the information of the followers breaking containment and climate delays pushing that thrilling end into the primary half of the Tremendous Bowl.
The tour couldn’t fairly get a win.
A subsection of individuals turned this right into a dialog about LIV departures and an indication the tour wasn’t an awesome product anymore. This offseason, the PGA Tour misplaced one main star, Jon Rahm, and one other top-20 participant, Tyrell Hatton. Shedding them stung. Little doubt about it. Nevertheless it’s doubtless misguided to behave just like the outcomes of those tournaments had been as a result of these two weren’t there. Kirk and Clark beat loaded fields with a lot of the greatest gamers on the planet. Even Sony, AmEx and Phoenix all had a great chunk of top-10 and top-20 gamers. These gamers simply beat them.
It’s doubtless extra concerning the persona part. Regardless of your ideas on LIV, it’s not less than honest to say it took most of the largest personas from the PGA Tour. Few are greater than Mickelson. Brooks Koepka is a star. Bryson DeChambeau is a pariah. Dustin Johnson won’t be an enormous “persona,” however he’s been one of the crucial talked about golfers for a decade plus. Rahm and Hatton are two hot-blooded, emotional gamers who carry aptitude. Cameron Smith is a fishing-loving Aussie with a mullet who was on his solution to changing into an even bigger star. And all people has opinions on Patrick Reed.
Even if you wish to criticize the standard of a few of these gamers, the reality is LIV has loads of the golfers who appeal to probably the most eyeballs.
And although it’s no one’s fault, the PGA Tour gamers taking part in the perfect aren’t precisely their eyeball winners. As Garrett Morrison of The Fried Egg identified, solely one of many six winners ranked within the high 20 of the PGA Tour’s Participant Influence Program rewarding gamers for bringing enterprise to the tour (tickets, sponsorships, media consumption and fan engagement). And that one was Clark in a rain-shortened occasion.
If my information assortment is true (it won’t be?):
– Nobody from the 2023 PIP high 10 has achieved higher than third place this season
– One participant within the PIP high 20 (Wyndham Clark) has gained, and it was a rain-shortened occasion— Garrett Morrison (@garrett_TFE) February 17, 2024
The largest title manufacturers for the tour proper now are Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. Effectively, Riviera is simply McIlroy’s second occasion in america this 12 months. Spieth is taking part in stable golf however not fairly profitable. And Woods is a 48-year-old legend averaging extra surgical procedures per 12 months than top-10s. Then, simply to throw gasoline available on the market share fireplace, Woods withdrew from the Genesis, the occasion he hosts, Friday because of the flu, and Spieth was disqualified Friday for submitting an incorrect scorecard. That’s two enormous attracts out of the equation.
Its subsequent wave of younger stars like Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa aren’t fairly on the publicity degree of these names, and even they haven’t fairly performed to their distinctive ranges (but) this season.
None of that is really an issue, actually. The tournaments are nonetheless good. Many have included cool storylines. Anyone performing like this can be a enormous subject might be attempting to make it one. However it’s a factor. A factor value maintaining a tally of.
“It’s necessary, clearly,” Schauffele stated Saturday, “however I used to be speaking to the CEO of AmEx and he was speaking concerning the scores when Nick (Dunlap) gained. Individuals love the Cinderella story. I’m undecided what the scores had been for Waste Administration, however Charley being — I’m biased, clearly, being from San Diego — however him being one of many older guys attempting to win out right here, being a youthful crowd. It’s type of the gorgeous factor concerning the PGA Tour. Anybody can win any week, and there’s a whole lot of tales that go round.”
It’s simply sufficient of a factor that it makes this Sunday considerably necessary. Riviera is arguably the perfect course the tour performs in any respect 12 months. Cantlay and Schauffele are year-in, year-out top-10 gamers, and Zalatoris is any individual the golf world is pulling for. However even this win of a leaderboard comes with a caveat.
Cantlay isn’t precisely a well-liked participant. He’s solely No. 19 in final 12 months’s PIP rankings and has misplaced factors with the plenty at occasions for accusations of gradual play and a closely reputed report that he didn’t put on a hat on the 2023 Ryder Cup to protest gamers not being paid for the occasion. Schauffele is world No. 5 and one of the crucial constant gamers of his period, however his profession is primarily identified for being constant with out profitable many massive occasions. Principally, even the PGA Tour’s massive Sunday is coming by way of a few of its extra ho-hum stars.
However right here’s the place we have to draw back from PIP and recognition. Let’s simply discuss golf. This last spherical goes to be superior. It’s going to be the perfect course with the perfect gamers and one thing golf followers needs to be watching.
We’re six weeks into an eight-month season. Shut up and revel in.
(Picture of Patrick Cantlay: Harry How / Getty Photographs)