An entertaining start in Hawaii shows that the PGA Tour’s elevated events isn’t just about a bigger purse, it’s elevated drama.
Who says golf is boring?!
Jon Rahm had a miracle win in the Aloha state, with a final round of -10 to beat Collin Morikawa by two shots, after Morikawa led into the final round by seven shots.
It was worth staying up into the wee small hours for.
This result has catapulted the PGA Tour as the number one golf tour in the world, pushing the LIV Tour further into the abyss. And we’re only one tournament into 2023.
“It’s the elevated action and drama that grips golf fans week in, week out that what makes the PGA Tour so great.”
Who can honestly say that LIV, last year, produced some great golfing action? Who can honestly say they watched any of the golf from LIV last year?
LIV have got it absolutely wrong. Yes, they have the ‘best players’ playing on the ‘best courses’, but I highly doubt that Cameron Smith is going to thwart Dustin Johnson’s nine shot lead in a three-round tournament at Adelaide.
Plus, LIV is a team tournament as well as an induvial competition, with names that makes them look like NFL teams, without any of the NFL aggression. (What does team Punch have to do with golf?)
But it’s not only the action that the PGA trump LIV, it’s the marketing as well.
Not one advert on the TV, or banner on a website has been seen promoting LIV, condemning it to be some sort of ghost tour. Don’t LIV want people to come and watch the very best golf has to offer?
The PGA Tour will provide the avid watcher, with clues to watch for the majors, a big finale in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, to crown the very best in world golf.
And don’t’ forget the European Tour, who boast some of the best golfing locations, and some of the best young talents that golf has to offer.
These two tours, as well as the players on it offer some of the best golf tournaments, and therefore the best golfing action.
When the PGA Tour announced these ‘elevated events’, it wasn’t just the bigger purses that tournaments will get they were talking about. It’s the elevated action and drama that grips golf fans week in, week out that what makes the PGA Tour so great.
There is no doubt that the media’s eyes will be trained to Mayakoba at the end of February, to see if there is any threat, in terms of action, to the PGA Tour, but I highly doubt it.
If you’re earning the same amount of money for every tournament you play in, then what’s the point in winning any of the tournaments, it’s just a nice tour of some decent golf courses and some of your mates are playing with you too. It’s a lads holiday, with millions of pounds worth of contracts lumped on.
There’ll be a shock to the system when these golfers play in the Masters, now that they’re allowed to, because it’ll be a taste of competitive golf, over four rounds of golf, and not three, and no one treats the Masters like a golf holiday.
There is no doubt that Jon Rahm’s win won’t have been watched by many in Europe, mostly because of the time difference, but the news that everyone is waking up to will have sparked an interest.
That’s more than LIV have ever done to the world of golf so far.
Oliver Holmes
