The tournament at Doral this week is attracting a lot of hype, mostly because 11 of the top 12 players are playing in the Ford Championship. It makes sense since talented fields and big prize money help bring drama and attention to regular tournaments. So why can’t the PGA Tour get the best players to show up every week? It seems like for every tournament with a strong field and a tough course we have to sit through three or four tournaments like the Southern Farm Bureau Classic and Reno Tahoe Open with no-name players battling on a municipal-like golf course. Tiger Woods has an answer to the problem, shorten the PGA Tour season.
It would be more exciting for the fans, and I’m sure the sponsors and TV and everybody if we did play more often together. The only way you could do that is if we shortened the season. We have an 11-month season, and that’s too long. There’s no other sport that plays 11 months of the year. I think we should end with Labor Day. How can we compete against football? It’s not going to happen.
Tiger raises some valid points. A shorter schedule has many bonuses. Fewer tournaments would lead to stronger fields and increased fan interest at every tournament. Last year Tiger, Vijay, Ernie, and Phil only played together in eight tournaments, four of which were majors. Furthermore, a shorter schedule will also make television contracts easier and more lucrative than in the past. Tiger’s not standing alone on the issue. Phil Mickelson and David Toms have also voiced their opinions on the need to shorten the season.
Other players have voiced their opinions, some directly against Tiger. Tom Pernice, Jr., a member of the PGA Tour board said, “Right now, Vijay is doing more for the PGA Tour than anybody. Tiger has done a lot for us out there, but I think it’s time for Tiger to step up and play some more events.” That’s quite a strong statement considering Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson never played more than 24 events. Also, part of Tiger’s allure is his incredible winning percentage which would likely be sacrificed with more appearances.
One thing everyone can agree on is the fact that a shortened season is definitely a double-edged sword. With fewer tournaments come fewer opportunities for relative unknowns to break through with wins and simply be able to make a living. If the Honda Classic had a field with Vijay, Tiger, Ernie, Phil, and Retief, would we have ever heard of Todd Hamilton and would he have won the British Open? Also consider the cities and courses which currently hold Tour events that would be subject to contraction. These cities would lose a major boon to their economy since it is estimated the average out of state fan spends $314 per day at Tour events. More importantly, contraction would limit the game’s exposure and opportunities to contribute to charities throughout the country.
Will the PGA Tour go to a shortened season? Only time will tell. As usual, the powers that be are taking a vague stance on the issue. Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said, “I wouldn’t want to mislead anybody into thinking that we are on a mission to significantly alter the schedule, but we are aggressively looking and challenging ourselves in how we are presenting the product.”
Photo Credit: © Augusta Chronicle.
“That’s quite a strong statement considering Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson never played more than 24 events.” true,but how many events were there in there day? 30-35? These players are thinking only of themselves and not the finacial inpacked some of these lesser events bring to the area.
I would not want to see the season shortened. I enjoy having a golf tournament to watch at the office for a couple of hours on Thursday and Friday afternoon. I never see weekend play because I’m out playing golf! Tiger plays in half the season’s events, why should he care? Fact is, there are only about ten really strong events — the majors, Players, Tour Championship, WGC events, etc. — and the rest are just entertainment. Nobody’s calling for a shorter baseball or basketball season, are they?