Sign up for our daily newsletter
Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.
Beyond resolutions and reflection, a new year brings fresh opportunities and the promise of fascinating events to come.
Men’s professional golf has an abundance of storylines waited to be cued in 2023 – none more so than the latest round of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s battle for supremacy.
LIV’s emergence in 2022 disrupted the sport on a scale few can recall. Depending on your perspective, it’s either the best thing to happen to golf in a generation or a shameless attempt at sportswashing.
There’s no mistaking which of those two camps the PGA Tour sits in. No longer the game’s most lucrative circuit, how 2023 plays out for the Ponte Vedra Beach-based body is sure to be fascinating.
LIV compelled Jay Monahan and Co. to expedite a raft of structural changes they might otherwise have resisted or, at the very least, deferred a while longer. Twelve events have been given ‘Elevated’ status and average purses of at least $20million; there’s a new ‘Earnings Assurance Program’; stipends have been introduced for not fully-exempt players who miss the cut in tour events; the Player Impact Program has been expanded to 20 players with the pot doubled to $100million. And that’s just the start.
Bottom line: the PGA Tour is attempting to solve its biggest existential crisis by throwing more money at the problem. This, despite Monahan previously acknowledging his organisation can’t compete with its Saudi-funded opponent in an ‘arms race of dollar bills’.
Already, there have been problems. The tour has lost its longest-standing sponsor, Honda, whose Florida-based tournament is not one of the 12 new ‘Elevated’ events. The Japanese car manufacturer said all the right things as it pulled the plug on 42 years of continuous support – “We’ve achieved our goal of becoming a household name in the US” etc – but the optics, not to mention the timing, hint at a more acrimonious agenda. Rightly or wrongly, there’s a feeling that Honda’s response to not becoming an ‘Elevated’ was to say “screw you” and run.
At this moment, the tour is staging its first event of 2023, the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. No matter what else, there will be a new name on the trophy come Sunday, last year’s champion Cam Smith currently suspended by the PGA Tour after ‘defecting’ to LIV in August. So far this week, his absence has largely gone unnoticed. It’s hard to imagine that being the case at The PLAYERS Championship in March.
Smith won the tour’s flagship event last year, narrowly edging out Anirban Lahiri and Paul Casey – both of whom have also since joined LIV. Five of last year’s top-10, in fact, are now aligned with the Greg Norman-fronted enterprise.
This leaves The PLAYERS in an interesting spot. Historically, the tournament has boasted the deepest and strongest field in golf. So long as the tour continues to ostracise LIV players, however, that’s unlikely to remain the case, which, in turn, will surely devalue its positioning as the “unofficial fifth major”.
The Masters and Open have already stated they will honour exemptions for LIV golfers, with the US Open and US PGA expected to follow suit. As a consequence, the four majors will provide the only opportunities for fans to see Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth and their PGA Tour peers compete against Dustin Johnson, Cam Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and their LIV colleagues.
This is bound to impact the standing of The PLAYERS. Until all this kicked off, there had been a growing sentiment that the championship was gaining ground on the ‘Big Four’ in terms of field strength, prize money, history, awareness, marketing and just about every other metric. People I spoke to at Augusta last April shared their belief that it had already overtaken the US PGA as an occasion, and was a major in ‘all but name’.
The PGA Tour’s position on LIV, therefore, will presumably come at the expense of its own biggest event. You might even call it an act of self-sabotage as a by-product of self-preservation.
It’s an invidious position to be in and much, of course, depends on the longevity of LIV itself. Norman’s venture is hardly without its own troubles. Aside from an ongoing fight for world ranking points, litigation and the departure of a senior member of staff shortly before Christmas, the league has yet to confirm its full schedule for 2023. There have also been no new player signings, despite the league’s stated goal of having all this in place before the end of last year.
For all that, it does appear to have the most important thing: a patient and deep-pocketed bank-roller. It’s almost impossible to envisage a scenario where it nosedives into oblivion any time soon.
And so the focus shifts back to the PGA Tour. This is its 108th season and the 56th since it separated from the PGA of America.
It’s shaping up to be one of its most important.
—
To get more from Michael, follow him on Twitter: @MMcEwanGolf
ALL ABOUT THE MASTERS
More Reads
Golf News
-
Ian Poulter aims ratings dig at PGA Tour
-
Zurich Classic of New Orleans 2024: Preview, betting tips, how to watch
-
LIV Golf Adelaide 2024: Preview, betting tips, how to watch
-
ISPS Handa Championship 2024: Preview, betting tips & how to watch
-
Tour pro takes aim at ‘old timers’ on Masters commentary
-
World No.1 amateur reveals surprise PGA Tour decision
-
Colin Montgomerie to host Staysure PGA Seniors Championship
-
McEwan: Golf’s dwindling ratings a sad sign of the TV times
The bunkered Golf Course Guide - Scotland
Now, with bunkered, you can discover the golf courses Scotland has to offer. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
Find Courses