By Rahul Banerji
Unable to stem the trickle of players into the LIV Golf ranks, the PGA Tour has delved straight into the Greg Norman-fronted league’s playbook.
Following a top-level meeting at the venue of last week’s BMW Championship attended by Tiger Woods and 22 other top names on the PGA Tour, a counter to the threat posed by LIV has emerged.
Ironically, in doing so, the assembled golfers and the PGA Tour have taken large parts of LIV Golf’s format and scheduling, bumped up prize money for exclusive fields and trickle-down effects for the rest.
Irony lies in the fact that many of these points were the ones pointed out by LIV Golf’s very first big-name recruit, Phil Mickelson, as being areas the PGA Tour needed to focus on in the first place.
So with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy standing four-square behind the PGA Tour, it is now LIV Golf that has come under some pressure despite the deep pockets behind the venture.
Who’s who
At the meeting were Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns, Jordan Spieth, Tony Finau, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Joaquin Niemann, Max Homa, Shane Lowry, Tyrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler.
Missing from the list was Australia’s Cameron Smith and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, and no reasons are as of now available as to why.
Interestingly, in a spinoff benefit for the two top dogs, Woods and McIlroy have also tied up in a tech-driven business venture that will also include stadium-style golf events.
So much for golf’s traditions and other put-downs handed out against the Saudi-backed LIV venture so far,
Be that as it may, on Wednesday the PGA Tour said in a statement that its top players had made a commitment to compete against each other more often in 2023.
That will happen alongside “an innovative slate of changes” announced by tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
“The cornerstone of the new initiatives is the creation of a “Top Player” category which draws from the top 20 in the current and revised Player Impact Program criteria.
“Those players will play in 20 events in 2023 – which is five more than required to maintain tour membership,” a statement said.
Full backing
Added Monahan, “Our top players are firmly behind the tour, helping us deliver an unmatched product to our fans, who will be all but guaranteed to see the best players competing against each other in 20 events or more throughout the season.
“This is an extraordinary and unprecedented commitment, a testament to who these guys are and what they believe in.”
The changes include 12 elevated events, an increase of four from the announcement Monahan made in June and will all feature purses of at least $20 million.
The “top players” will compete in the 12 elevated events, as well as the Players Championship, the four majors and three additional tour events of their choosing.
The first such event is January’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.
“This is a remarkable time for the tour,” the under-fire Monahan said.
“We have and always will be the ultimate platform for a player who wants to compete for the trophies and the titles that matter most.”
And as if to underline the Michelson-Norman irony, Monahan added, “I think our fans, our partners, our players are going to love it. I promise you, there’s more to come.”
Rare occasions
World number four Rory McIlroy, who has backed the PGA Tour sturdily, said, “I think I saw a stat yesterday that apart from the major championships and maybe the Players, the top 10 players, top 20 players in the world get together to play against each other one other time during the year.
“… I think if you’re trying to sell a product to TV and to sponsors and to try to get as many eyeballs on professional golf as possible, you need to at least let people know what they’re tuning in for.
“When I tune into a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, I expect to see Tom Brady throw a football. When I tune into a Formula 1 race, I expect to see Lewis Hamilton in a car.”
“Sometimes what’s happened on the PGA Tour is we all act independently and we sort of have our own schedules, and that means that we never really get together all that often.”
Among other goodies on the list is an enhanced bonus pool for a players media presence programme, assured earnings and a travel stipend, not available at the moment for the average PGA Tour player.
Embracing other new initiatives, the tour has also become a partner in “TGL,” a tech-fuelled series of Monday night team competitions created by TMRW, the new company formed by McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Mike McCarley.
The 18-hole competition will launch in January of 2024 and will feature six teams of three PGA Tour pros playing 15 matches, as well as a semi-final and finals series.
Both Woods and McIlroy are committed to play in the events before a live audience.
Talk about shifting goalposts and lifting from someone else’s playbook.
Also read: Stenson strikes on LIV Golf debut, Aces win team crown again
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