The Other Winner of the 2023 Masters

As it became clear on a rain-shortened Saturday at Augusta that there were only two horses left in the race for the green jacket, an oversimplified narrative emerged. The storyline that a Jon Rahm triumph was a victory for the PGA Tour and a Koepka win validated LIV ignored many of the other intriguing factors at play. It followed along the lines of rumors earlier in the week about tension and unease between PGA and LIV players that never had any real basis in reality. If asked, I’m sure both Rahm and Koepka would’ve wholeheartedly disagreed with any such speculation.

I’m also sure that Jay Monahan had a much more enjoyable Sunday evening listening to Rahm give his winner’s speech on 18 green instead of watching Greg Norman break through the gates with DJ Fat Tony to kickoff a LIV celebration. It really is a shame we were all robbed of that spectacle. But Rahm’s win isn’t a game changer for the PGA Tour and doesn’t tip the scales in any way. For the DP World Tour and Keith Pelley, however, Sunday’s conclusion couldn’t have gone any better.

Jay Monahan (left) and Keith Pelley (right)

The two most important players for the DP World Tour are Rahm and Rory McIlroy. As the first- and third-ranked players in the world, they give Pelley something Monahan is familiar with: leverage. That leverage just got a substantial boost with Rahm’s Masters win. Every tournament director will be doing all they can to add “Masters Champion Jon Rahm” to its field. The good news for Pelley is that Rahm is a mainstay at a handful of DPWT events every summer and fall.

There’s more good news for Pelley as last week brought a favorable resolution in his tour’s arbitration case against LIV. As I wrote about in March, a pro-DPWT decision that allows it to keep its tournaments LIV-free could pave the way for more co-sanctioned events with the PGA Tour. Attaching the DPWT to future designated events is the single most effective way Pelley can inject some life back into his tour. He should be using Rahm and McIlroy every chance he gets to put pressure on his counterpart to bring these events overseas.

Another wrinkle that favors Pelley is that after this year, designated events are no longer mandatory. The 20 million that’s up for grabs will still create some of the best fields of the year, but for players like Rahm and McIlroy who want to carve out time in their schedules to play overseas, a designated event or two could get dropped. Elevating one of those overseas events to designated status starts making sense if you’re Monahan. It could ease frustrations about the number of events Rahm and McIlroy have to play during Ryder Cup years, and it adds some international flare that is severely lacking.

Pelley has been dealt a decent hand, both in starpower and in options for handling the LIV defectors thanks to the courts. If he plays his cards right, the coming years could see the DPWT pop back at its “feeder” tour status.