Does the PGA Tour have a juice drawback, and can Sunday clear up it?

LOS ANGELES — It was all going to be so good. It had stars. It had information. It had probably the most stunning phases in all of sports activities in prime time. It was purported to be the PGA Tour’s massive day.

Two weeks in the past up in Pebble Beach, Wyndham Clark shot a third-round 60 to interrupt the historic course’s report and take the lead on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The tour couldn’t have drawn up a greater Sunday — in concept. It was the off week earlier than the Super Bowl, which means it virtually had the sports activities calendar to itself. It made the match a signature occasion, which means certainly one of golf’s most iconic venues had all the perfect gamers on tour competing. And immediately 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 essentially the most thrilling younger participant within the sport, Ludvig Åberg.

And it merely by no means occurred.

Instead, excessive climate halted play Sunday with flooding and knocked down bushes throughout California. The course took a lot water over 5 days that the match couldn’t even be completed Monday. Instead of an exhilarating, star-studded prime-time end with everybody speaking about PGA Tour golf, the match 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.

But it would simply have the Sunday it’s been ready for. At the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club — which many think about the perfect non-major on tour — the ultimate spherical is setting as much as get attention-grabbing. It has No. 7 participant on the earth Patrick Cantlay with a two-shot lead. It has his good pal and No. 5 golfer Xander Schauffele in second, tied with rising star Will Zalatoris again within the combine after lacking 2023 because of again surgical procedure. Throw in major-winner Jason Day and Ryder Cupper Harris English 4 again at an elite course, and this could possibly 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. But one thing unusual has been taking place. All six tournaments so far have been gained by a protracted shot. Literally. They’ve been gained by the so-called randoms, the “mules,” as some within the golf world prefer to discuss with them. Chris Kirk. Grayson Murray. Nick Dunlap. Matthieu Pavon. Wyndham Clark. Nick Taylor. All six have entered the match at odds of 100-1 or larger. Five of the six entered the week exterior of the Official World Golf Ranking prime 50. The solely winner inside that prime 50, Clark, gained and not using a closing 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. Much of the golf has been thrilling. One match 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 news as a result of drunken crowds overrunning safety.

But, for higher or worse, this sport has grow to be a enterprise run on backside strains. As wars go on between leagues and personal fairness companies purchase in and all we hear about is scores, Player Impact Programs 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 match, however Kirk’s win after taking time without work to take care of 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 going through punishment from the PGA Tour years earlier, and gained in an exhilarating playoff thanks to 2 unbelievable photographs within the clutch. These weren’t stars, however most agreed these have been actually cool finishes.

Then, on the American Express, which is on no account a giant match anticipating large fanfare, the 20-year-old defending U.S. Amateur 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.

Next was 31-year-old Frenchman Matthieu Pavon (150-1) profitable at Torrey Pines. Then got here the climate mess of Pebble Beach with the tour being robbed of its thrilling closing spherical, which additionally led to extra of the golf world watching LIV’s closing spherical in Mexico. And final week on the Waste Management Open in Phoenix — identified for its loud, booze-filled environment — it had an exhilarating playoff end between Nick Taylor and 47-year-old Charley Hoffman. And even that was drowned out by the news of the followers breaking containment and climate delays pushing that thrilling end into the primary half of the Super 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 important product anymore. This offseason, the PGA Tour misplaced one main star, Jon Rahm, and one other top-20 participant, Tyrell Hatton. Losing them stung. No doubt about it. But it’s probably misguided to behave just like the outcomes of those tournaments have been as a result of these two weren’t there. Kirk and Clark beat loaded fields with many of the finest gamers on the earth. Even Sony, AmEx and Phoenix all had a superb chunk of top-10 and top-20 gamers. Those gamers simply beat them.

It’s probably extra concerning the character part. No matter your ideas on LIV, it’s at the least truthful to say it took most of the greatest personas from the PGA Tour. Few are larger than Mickelson. Brooks Koepka is a star. Bryson DeChambeau is a pariah. Dustin Johnson may not be an enormous “personality,” however he’s been probably the most talked about golfers for a decade plus. Rahm and Hatton are two hot-blooded, emotional gamers who convey aptitude. Cameron Smith is a fishing-loving Aussie with a mullet who was on his method to changing into a much 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 entice essentially the most eyeballs.

And although it’s no person’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 prime 20 of the PGA Tour’s Player Impact 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 correct (it may not be?):
– No one from the 2023 PIP prime 10 has completed higher than third place this season
– One participant within the PIP prime 20 (Wyndham Clark) has gained, and it was a rain-shortened occasion

— Garrett Morrison (@garrett_TFE) February 17, 2024

The greatest title manufacturers for the tour proper now are Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods. Well, Riviera is simply McIlroy’s second occasion within the United States this yr. Spieth is taking part in stable golf however not fairly profitable. And Woods is a 48-year-old legend averaging extra surgical procedures per yr than top-10s. Then, simply to throw gasoline available on the market share hearth, Woods withdrew from the Genesis, the occasion he hosts, Friday as a result of flu, and Spieth was disqualified Friday for submitting an incorrect scorecard. That’s two large 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 stage 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. Anybody performing like this can be a large challenge might be making an attempt to make it one. But it’s a factor. A factor price maintaining a tally of.

“It’s important, obviously,” Schauffele mentioned Saturday, “but I was talking to the CEO of AmEx and he was talking about the ratings when Nick (Dunlap) won. People love the Cinderella story. I’m not sure what the ratings were for Waste Management, but Charley being — I’m biased, obviously, being from San Diego — but him being one of the older guys trying to win out here, being a younger crowd. It’s sort of the beautiful thing about the PGA Tour. Anyone can win any week, and there’s a lot of stories that go around.”

It’s simply sufficient of a factor that it makes this Sunday considerably essential. Riviera is arguably the perfect course the tour performs in any respect yr. Cantlay and Schauffele are year-in, year-out top-10 gamers, and Zalatoris is any person the golf world is pulling for. But even this win of a leaderboard comes with a caveat.

Cantlay isn’t precisely a preferred participant. He’s solely No. 19 in final yr’s PIP rankings and has misplaced factors with the plenty at instances for accusations of sluggish 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 probably the most constant gamers of his period, however his profession is primarily identified for being constant with out profitable many massive occasions. Basically, even the PGA Tour’s massive Sunday is coming through a few of its extra ho-hum stars.

But right here’s the place we have to draw back from PIP and recognition. Let’s simply speak about golf. This closing spherical goes to be superior. It’s going to be the perfect course with the perfect gamers and one thing golf followers ought to be watching.

We’re six weeks into an eight-month season. Shut up and revel in.

(Photo of Patrick Cantlay: Harry How / Getty Images)