Monday
Oct162006
Las Vegas On Las Vegas
I watched parts of the rain-delayed Las Vegas final round as it moved yesterday from ESPN on ABC, to ESPN on ABC on and finally, to ESPN on ABC on ESPN2. (International readers...it's a long story. A branding thing.)
Besides the lack of star power, the lack of a fan base was painfully obvious. Ed Graney in the Las Vegas paper notes that it's a problem likely to worsen when the event moves to the "Fall Finish."
Golf is about to undergo a change that will either re-energize an indifferent fan base or continue to keep casual followers at an AccuFLEX shaft distance away from any event that doesn't include Woods, a transformation that could ultimately determine where the Las Vegas tournament fits into the sport's long-term landscape.
The question is not whether the event can improve greatly (if at all) in stature -- Hoffman couldn't be more correct in his assessment that it is what it is -- but whether a newly designed PGA playoff system will lessen its appeal to golfers (and in turn fans) even more.
There always will be a place at the event for the golf purist, for those who truly appreciate the idea of walking alongside the world's No. 2 player (it's Jim Furyk for those who don't know, which means most everyone) and not having to strain their neck glancing over rows of heads to watch him putt.
But when the FedEx Cup portion of the 2007 schedule concludes at the Tour Championship next mid-September and the $10 million payday has been awarded to the first points champion, how much interest will remain for a seven-tournament fall series than includes the Las Vegas stop?
And what can those running the event here do to make it more than just another week for those players merely trying to avoid Q-school or improve their world ranking?
Monday, October 16, 2006 at 08:23 AM
Reader Comments (2)
Finchem's platforming the brand Fed Ex is ruining every concievable aspect ( significance, TV, galleries etc.) of fall finish events. These are $Dead Tournaments$ walking.
On the one hand, we've got this idea (that the Commish seems to no longer even recognize conciously... aka a paradigm) that THE TOUR is an entity to be reconed with on its own merits. No need for promotion, no need to actually get people excited about the fact that the road show is back in town, or that the greatest circus on Earth is just on the other side of town. There isn't even a voice out there saying to all the double digit handicaps "We're better than you. Come watch us in envy." This may have something to do with the conservative nature of the game, but promotion of the events themselves seems lackluster.
Then there's the Tiger Problem (capitalized as one would a disease). Has it never occured to anyone that no one seems keen to promote any of the other heavyweights out there in even a remotely similar fashion? Not all these guys are camera friendly, of course, and far from being household names like Tiger has become, but why doesn't THE TOUR make more of an effort beyond their silly player bio ads? Why not a few magazine write-ups with players talking about their ambitions, desires, dreams? Get a few players saying "I'd love to take Tiger down in a playoff". It seems that when Tiger loses coming down to the wire, everyone is disappointed. Aren't upsets in other sports seen as a point of high drama? Not exclusively I'm sure, but the showdown at the Buick Open was classic and definately one that could have been ridden for everything it was worth both during and after the telecast. Instead, no one even seems to remember what's-his-name the lurker, some spanish dude who was pretty good a few years back, but we all remember the winner and champeen TIGER WOODS! YAAAAY!
Does no one see a problem with this?
With the fall finish taking on the appearance of a memorial service commemorating the start of the year, shouldn't they be seeking more involvement with promotion, REAL promotion? That as opposed to the current THE TOUR brand "aura"?