The PGA Tour visits Bay Hill this week for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but just what would Jay Monahan give for a big-name winner after a start filled with underdog tournament victors so far.
In years gone by, we’d look at the likes of amateur Nick Dunlap making history and Jake Knapp’s fairytale victory as great stories, and the plethora of unheralded winners as evidence of the strength in depth on the PGA Tour.
That’s obviously still the case, and some of 2024’s early champions could become stars of the future, but the household names such as Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler haven’t been in the hunt.
Even Tiger Woods couldn’t help out due to his illness at the Genesis as TV viewing figures have generally been down – and that’s a problem when rivals LIV Golf has had Dustin Johnson and Joaquin Niemann winning their opening events.
And then there’s Jon Rahm. The Spaniard won three of the opening seven events on the PGA Tour last year, but he’s obviously now pulling in a few new viewers playing in the LIV Golf League.
Even if you still see the PGA Tour as the pinnacle of the men’s game, LIV Golf has still had more star names being involved at the sharp end of the leaderboard early on in 2024 – with a limited field helping in that respect.
Having larger fields packed with quality and outsiders being able to win any given week is a huge strength for the PGA Tour, and avid golf fans love that aspect, but in terms of growing the fanbase, bringing more general sports fans in and generating more interest, they need some help from the big guns.
PGA Tour Winners 2023 vs 2024
Jon Rahm after his win at the 2023 Genesis Invitational
(Image credit: Getty Images)
| Event | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| The Sentry | Jon Rahm | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open | Si Woo Kim | Grayson Murray |
| American Express | Jon Rahm | Nick Dunlap |
| Farmers Insurance | Max Homa | Matthieu Pavon |
| Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Justin Rose | Wyndham Clark |
| Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis | Jon Rahm | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open* | Tony Finau | Jake Knapp |
| Cognizant Classic | Chris Kirk | Austin Eckroat |
*The 2023 Mexico Open was played in late April.
It’s not just LIV Golf that the PGA Tour is battling against though, but last year’s start to the season when Rahm dominated but we also saw Scheffler, Justin Rose and Max Homa pick up tournament victories.
This year we’ve had two Major champions win events but two of the lesser lights in terms of popularity, at least in the USA where the majority of the viewership resides, with Hideki
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