A March Madness style event would create a golf hysteria for the PGA. The PGA lacks a great one-on-one tournament. Contemplate, for a second, how much interest this could create. The upsets, Cinderella stories, perseverance, and excitement would lead to, oh no, a spotlight on the sport. Golf competes with other major sports for attention, and this NCAA tournament will certainly steal attention from this weekend’s Bay Hill Invite. Why not attempt something similar? Imagine the possibility. Tiger would start off playing against the 64th ranked player in the PGA tour. As of right now, that would be K.J. Choi. If K.J. comes up with an upset it would be huge. As I write this piece, I listen to Pacific trying to upset Boston College, and the excitement is ridiculous. Boston College is a 4 seed losing in overtime to a 13 seed. It is a shame that either team should lose in this tournament given the heart of each, but it makes for great entertainment. Oklahoma lost to an 11th seed. For the rest of the tournament people will be examining the higher seeds such as UW Milwaukee with more scrutiny. This is great for the game. What if the nation cared to find out more about K.J. Choi? If he were to beat Tiger, he would be the man of the hour. This tournament could truly hold the nation spellbound and give excitement to a sport that is lacking enthusiasm by the general public. Imagine all the kids who go out and shoot hoops after watching March Madness choosing, instead, to hit the driving range with “Dad.” Meanwhile, kids look up to J.J. Redick, they could be dreaming of becoming Camilo Villegas or Vijay Singh.
It is double overtime between two schools, one had no reason to think they would win, and the other had all the confidence in the world. It is now a crap-shoot as to who will win. Thank goodness B.C. won because my bracket would have fallen apart, I have them in the Final 4.
I love the Madness!