The start of every PGA Tour season finds Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson missing from the ranks. Even V.J. Singh thinks they should have moved the tournament back at least a week to give the top dogs more time off. Some players like Jeff Ogilvie and Stephen Ames are complaining that the commissioner of the PGA, Tim Finchem is missing in action too. These players are complaining that it shows the lack of commitment to the Tour by the commissioner. Jeff & Stephen, nobody cares.
I’d love to see the top players at every tournament. The sponsors like it, the crowds thrive on it and the television networks count on it, but it will rarely happen to start the season. Top players like Tiger and Phil are brands in and of themselves. They aren’t beholden to the Tour. They will show up when the want to.
Tiger and Phil run the PGA and give the marching orders. The PGA and tour players need to understand that. Tiger, Incorporated and Phil & Company are the draws that bring in the dollars. They are the moneymakers for the PGA. They are multi-million dollars corporations and the PGA benefits from their largess. If Tiger said that he wanted to start The Tiger Tour and would commit to playing every tournament; goodbye PGA.
Let’s use tennis as an example. When Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were playing, tennis was hot. Everyone wanted to see a Connors-McEnroe match-up. Even ladies tennis was interesting to watch when Martina, Chissy and Billy Jean King were playing.
Although Phil Sampras is considered one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the game, nobody seems to care other than hardcore tennis fans. He doesn’t capture the imagination of fans and sponsors like Tiger does. An interview with Sampras is like getting your wisdom teeth pulled and just as painful. He doesn’t make for good media fodder.
No so with Phil or Tiger. They are the game of golf today. Think Oprah and her book club. She makes best sellers out of books just by talking about them. Tiger sells cars, watches and golf clubs just by lending his name to the brand. The PGA needs to understand that they don’t make the rules anymore, the star players do.
Tim Finchem gets overpaid and has nothing to do with the Tour’s popularity. His no-show at the Mercedes-Benz Championships to start the year is a non-event. The Tour needs to realize where its bread is butter and it ain’t by Commissioner Finchem.
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4 comments
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§ The Golfaholic
said on : 2008-01-05 @ 22:26
I couldn't agree with you more, the player's are the draw. They are the ones fans go to see. It would be nice to see the top guys there every week but don't hold your breath. They deserve the time off the season is very long and with the top guys missing a few weekends gives the other guys some time in the spot light. -
§ Ron Mon®
said on : 2008-01-06 @ 11:26
PGA or PGA Tour? -
§ Oliver Sudden
said on : 2008-01-08 @ 09:35
It's really not Phil and Tiger, it's just Tiger. He's the boss. As you said and I said before a Tiger tour where he plays all the events could easily be sold with big purses. The trouble with the PGA Tour is that sponsers of tournaments that Tiger doesn't play in are getting the shaft big time. Because Tiger is affliated with Buick and Phil with Ford it's easy to see why the Mercedes might be a tournament they would skip. -
§ GolfEllen
said on : 2008-01-22 @ 01:57
Personally I like seeing players like Vijay Singh and Carl Pettersson. We're looking forward to the PODS Championship in March at Innisbrook. Maybe Calcavecchia can be a two-time winner there.



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