by You may be winding down for the holidays, but the professional golf world sure isn’t. Who knew mid-December could be so busy?
From the made-for-TV The Showdown match between Rory McIlroy-Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau-Brooks Koepka to the PGA Tour’s announcement that it’s searching for a Chief Executive Officer and the U.S. Ryder Cup player payment plan, here are some winners and losers from an unexpectedly busy week.
Winners
Scottie Scheffler
The past couple of years have been a dark period for professional golf, plagued by division, relentless discussions about money, and declining ratings. A number of factors have served as distractions and turned off viewers from the best of what professional golf has to offer: the opportunity to witness greatness. Throughout that period, one golfer has kept his head down, steered clear of distractions, and distinguished himself as the greatest player on the planet. That golfer is Scottie Scheffler.
Between his dignified, off-the-course commentary concerning the state of the game and his unrivaled excellence on the golf course, Scottie Scheffler currently exists in a class of his own. His brand is consistent high-level performance, an increasingly refreshing brand in a sport being pulled in a multitude of directions.
Each time Scottie tees it up, whether in an exhibition match on TNT or in the final pairing at Augusta National, offers a wonderful opportunity to watch a world-class golfer at the height of his powers, which is a win not only for Scheffler but for all golf fans. Amidst the chaos coloring much of sport right now, Scheffler continues to provide a breath of fresh air.
David Feherty
Feherty’s immense talent as a commentator was on display during The Showdown. His combination of wit and deep knowledge of the sport added humor and insight throughout the telecast. Having both Feherty and Trevor Immelman on the mics blended well, and I’d welcome more opportunities to see them work together in the future.
Reebok, TaylorMade, the Four Competitors, Their Agents, and Anyone Else who Profited from The Showdown, either Directly or Through Exposure
This is the only cohort that I am fully confident emerged victorious from The Showdown.
U.S. Ryder Cup Participants Who Demanded Compensation
On Monday morning, the PGA of America announced a stipend for members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The PGA insists that no player asked to be compensated for their participation in the Ryder Cup. Nonetheless, the organization generously elected to introduce a stipend of $200,000 per Team USA player, with an additional $300,000 each earmarked for charity. Previously, players received $200,000, all of which was to be directed to charity. Congratulations to all involved.
Losers
Anyone Who Expected The Showdown to be Meaningful
Whether branded as The Showdown or The Match, these made-for-tv exhibition matches just are what they are. At this point, we’ve seen enough to know they carry no meaning outside of the 4-6 hour television windows they exist in. Players’ records in The Match aren’t getting added to their résumés any time soon. Scheffler and Mcilroy cruised to the win, but nobody in their right mind would draw any meaning from the results of the match, nor is there any indication these events are headed in that direction.
The matches are an opportunity to watch some of the best golfers in the world hit golf shots, which some golf fans find satisfying. If sponsors find enough value in these events to keep them going, great! It’s something to toss on the screen, some of which will be more captivating than others, and that’s better than nothing? But it’s very difficult to envision them evolving into anything more.
The PGA Tour
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the PGA Tour had another rough day.
Tuesday began with a video announcing the search for a new CEO position, delivered by the always-charismatic Jay Monahan. Amusingly, an abrupt audio edit at the 10-second mark seems to suggest that Jay still refers to the Tour’s Kapalua tournament as the Sentry Tournament of Champions? Jay, we dropped the champions a while ago! To be fair, sponsors and formats change so frequently it’s hard to keep track, even as the commissioner.
Then the Tour’s new Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Andy Weitz joined Golf Channel for an extremely awkward, seemingly-scripted, and pre-recorded 10-minute segment that provided more confusion than clarity about the role of the future CEO. What exactly are the new CEO’s responsibilities and how do they differ from the commissioner’s?
To cap things off, the Tour caught some social media backlash for its first and only post promoting The Showdown, which highlighted Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy while completely failing to mention Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. Imagine an NFL team posting promoting their game on the day of competition without mentioning who they’re playing against. Is it the end of the world if the PGA Tour’s social media accounts neglect DeChambeau and Koepka? No, but it would be nice to move on from a mentality that comes across as petty and vindictive.
At the beginning of the schism in men’s professional golf, one of the PGA Tour’s advantages was a massive headstart versus LIV Golf in the court of public opinion. It’s a lead that dwindles after each of the PGA Tour’s mishaps, which happen just about every day.
Though it’s hard to say which organizations in golf have their act together right now, one thing is certain: the PGA Tour is not among them.
This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
