Sports News | Column: Questions to Contemplate for a New Year on PGA Tour
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Of a couple of clear signs the PGA Tour is about to embark on a new year at Kapalua, one is obvious: The magnificent view from the first tee of an 80-yard fairway that seemingly drops into the Pacific Ocean.
Florida (USA), Jan 2 (AP) Of a couple of clear signs the PGA Tour is about to embark on a new year at Kapalua, one is obvious: The magnificent view from the first tee of an 80-yard fairway that seemingly drops into the Pacific Ocean.
The other is more bizarre: Jon Rahm sightings.
Rahm is the defending champion at The Sentry, except that all he has been defending of late is his decision to defect to Saudi-funded LIV Golf. The total compensation is probably in the neighbourhood of the entire PGA Tour prize fund for the FedEx Cup season.
There has been chatter about his vacation suite at Kapalua and one confirmed sighting of the Masters champion at a high-end resort up the coast at Makena.
The previous year began with LIV adding players that only ardent golf fans would recognize. Six months later came the shocking announcement of the PGA Tour's agreement to become commercial partners with the Saudi backer of LIV Golf, contingent on finalizing the deal by the end of the year.
Seven hours before the year ended, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan told players in a memo that there was no deal yet, only progress. Slow play strikes again.
So, the new year has the feel of the old one, except on Thursday. The Sentry has ditched the second part of its title name — Tournament of Champions — because the winners-only field now includes anyone who finished in the top 50 in the FedEx Cup.
The only player missing is Rory McIlroy — and Rahm, who has been suspended.
What to expect for 2024? Here are questions to contemplate:
The Saudi Deal - Whatever defines progress was slowed by Commissioner Jay Monahan taking a month away to cope with exhaustion, congressional inquiries and private equity groups wanting a piece of the action. The PGA Tour settled on Strategic Sports Group, and Monahan suggested a deal with SSG was farther along than anything with the Public Investment Fund.
Monahan also mentioned SSG, PIF and the European tour as minority co-investors. Golf Digest reported any agreement ideally would be completed by The Players Championship in March. There is no hard deadline, and it turns out December 31 was just a date on a piece of paper.
Regardless of valuations and contributions by “minority co-investors,” the biggest question is the future of LIV Golf and how and when — or if — the best players will be competing against each other outside the majors.
Finding a fair way to integrate is one thing. Rewarding the players who remained loyal to the tours would seem to be far more complicated.
Who's Next To Leave? - Still to be confirmed is whether Rahm gets his own LIV team, and there are still moving parts among the 12 existing teams. Either way, the year starts high on speculation about who will be the next to defect to LIV. Brooks Koepka leaving in 2022 and Rahm leaving in December should make it clear that no departure should be a surprise.
Who will be the next Adam Schenk? - Schenk had never finished higher than No. 71 in the FedEx Cup in his five years on the PGA Tour. He had played in only a couple of majors. He started the season at No. 176 in the world.
That adage about playing better? That applies to Schenk.
He was runner-up twice, including a playoff loss at Colonial. He played his way into three majors. He not only qualified for the Tour Championship, he was in contention going into the second round at East Lake.
He finished the year just short of USD 5 million, more than his previous five seasons combined.
For players who are not in the signature events, who feel as though there is now a separate tour for the elite, they should use Schenk as inspiration. That could be them.
Who will be the next Justin Thomas? - Thomas is the best example that even elite players have to earn it. He didn't in 2023, missing out on the postseason for the first time.
Thomas earned that by winning a couple of majors, a FedEx Cup and three money titles. Sponsor exemptions to the signature events will not be hard to find if he needs them.
That player a few years back was Rickie Fowler. Before him was Jordan Spieth.
Who makes it to Paris for the Olympics? - The toughest squad to make in golf is the US Olympic team, even if it's not a team event. Only four players from the top 15 in the world can go to Paris for the Summer Olympics. Going into the year, eight Americans are among the top 15.
Xander Schauffele is one of them. He won the gold medal in Tokyo and the first step is simply getting a shot at any medal. Justin Rose won the gold in Rio de Janeiro and didn't make it back to the next Olympics.
It gets even more complicated with international players, particularly the likes of Cameron Smith of Australia, Joaquin Niemann of Chile and Thomas Pieters of Belgium. Olympic qualifying is based strictly on the world ranking, and LIV doesn't get points for that. Their only chance at points is the majors, if they are even eligible for them.
Who will caddie for Tiger Woods? - Woods is optimistic that he can play once a month, starting in February, through the majors. Rob McNamara, a longtime business associate and a second set of eyes for his swing, worked at the World Challenge and is a likely candidate for Riviera.
And then, there's his son, 14-year-old Charlie. He's strong enough and could be an interesting choice for the US Open and British Open.
For regular caddies, John Wood left caddying to be an on-course analyst for NBC and Golf Channel. He is tight with Woods, knows his game and could be an option for tournaments that CBS broadcasts. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)