“I just don’t watch golf as much as I used to.”
“I watch the majors, but that’s about it.”
“The PGA Tour tells me the best players play here when some of the best players don’t play there.”
Those are just a few of the comments through phone calls, emails and text messages I’ve received in recent months about the PGA Tour. And almost all of the comments have come in relation to the ongoing battle between the PGA Tour and LIV golf during the last six months of negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and the defection of Jon Rahm from the PGA Tour to LIV for a massive contract of somewhere between $500 and $600 million.
Because of that contract, Rahm will not be allowed to defend titles in three PGA Tour events on the West Coast swing in January and February, including The American Express tournament in La Quinta.
The PGA Tour and the PIF may feel they are battling for the heart and soul of professional men’s golf in the world. But the message from readers seems clear: The constant fighting and insulting and preening of some figures on both sides might just kill the goose that laid the golden egg. In what is a niche sport to begin with compared to the goliaths of the NFL, the NBA, major league baseball and even soccer, golf might be turning off its fans with the bickering and with the top players in the game getting together only four times a year at the major championships.
Tony Finau and Talor Gooch talk during a practice round ahead of the 2022 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
Popularity at risk
Consider two specific cases, Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm. Mickelson was one of the most popular golfers with fans throughout his career, eventually winning 45 PGA Tour events and six majors in an era dominated by Tiger Woods. But Mickelson lost much of that goodwill from fans with his ongoing battles with the PGA Tour and the USGA, with his comments about who he would be dealing with if he jumped to the LIV tour and why he might still deal with “scary” people as a way to reshape the tour. By the time he did make the jump in June of 2022, Mickelson’s public image was vastly different than it had been when he won the 2021 PGA Championship.
Rahm had been an admired figure in golf for his strong play but also his thoughtful explanations for not wanting to play on the LIV tour. Those included a dislike for the LIV 54-hole format and the shotgun start for…
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