Trouble In Paradise: Pro Golf In Hawaii Edition
It's hard to believe, I know. Apathy surrounds the season opener at Kapalua. The biggest names stay home and the new oversaturation era begins with the PGA Tour's constant loop of action already seemingly exhausting. And it hasn't even started yet!
GolfChannel.com's Jason Sobel says the Hyundai Tournament of Some Champions has been overshadowed by the missing "Magnificent Seven," a "who’s who list of special talents: Rory McIlroy; Luke Donald; Tiger Woods; Justin Rose; Sergio Garcia; Phil Mickelson; Ernie Els."
But just think, they didn't get to pre-tape NFL style introductions!
Meanwhile Ann Miller in the Honolulu Advertiser publishes several ominous quotes from Tim Finchem fishing buddy, Fred Funk favorite and all-things-Hawaii point man, Mark Rolfing. Since it's behind a paywall, SBD summarizes the key lines.
"I know the date is problematic. We've got guys skipping that never skipped before. ... The fact is, it should be one week later. Next year will be worse. New Year's Day is Wednesday of tournament week.” Miller noted the PGA Tour Sony Open, the “first full-field event of the year, is next week at Waialae Country Club.”
It's not great news for the Sony either.
Sony's commitment as title sponsor extends through ‘14, though Rolfing “worries weaker fields and the date's conflict with the International Consumer Electronics Show could mortally wound a tour stop that goes back nearly 50 years.” Meanwhile, this is the final year of Hyundai's title sponsorship for the TOC, and the tournament’s “holiday date and diluted fields make it tough on extension talks.” Rolfing said, "I've talked to a whole lot of players, and I think one week would make a huge difference."
Fifty-shmifty. Sorry Mark, we've got WGC's and the all-important fall events taking priority! Oh and Asia too.
It's not all bad news, as Hyundai's front man sounds positive talking to Jim McCabe, even though they just can't quite seem to put ink to a new contract.
“We are very bullish,” Shannon said. “We don’t have anything to announce this week, particularly because we are so focused in executing another great event. But we’ve had discussions with the PGA Tour, but we just need to get this tournament behind us and then have some more discussions with them.”
Geoff
**At least they had Chamber of Commerce weather on opening day.
Well, maybe not, according to Jim McCabe on the first wipeout of a PGA Tour round since 2005 and means 36 holes Saturday.
It’s the first time a round has been scrubbed since the Players Championship in 2005, when play was stopped after only 30 players began.
From the opening tee shot, it was a precarious endeavor. Matt Kuchar, in the second pairing, double-bogeyed the par-3 second when he landed beneath the lip of a bunker and couldn’t get the ball out. It rolled back into one of his footprints, perhaps a 6-inch hole. By the time four or five groups had played the 368-yard, par-4 third, it was clear that this was a day unlike another that this tournament had ever seen.
How crazy was it? Well, chew on this, all you moaners and groaners who think the ball goes too far: The driving average for 16 players at the third was a robust 221 yards.
“I hit mine 215,” Rickie Fowler said. “And I hit it good.”
Reader Comments (27)
This event should be mandatory, a validation, or whatever you want to call it....maybe you only get 50% of your winnings from the tournament(s) you won. These guys are cheating the public, the tour, the sponsors, themselves. It has been needing a fix for years, and here we are...still.
The Els/Woods playoff was as good as golf can get, and wha...? no shows half that paycheck goes to Shack posters vacation club. Sounds good to me. We'd be there, doing donuts in golf carts, eating poo lacka sune and what ever else, wave boarding ,water boarding, we'd be there!
When enough people don't watch or buy events will drop. Until then.... LPGA woes are due to a lack of American stars that win tournaments. I'm sure the ratings in So. Korea are fine.
Small field.
Good money.
But the no-shows don't care about the money.
First of all, the weather in Kapalua is way better in October than January - warmer and drier.
Second, move Kapalua and Waialae to that combo spot where the current plans are for the Fry's and Vegas events. Then you could move those two into the West Coast swing in January/February somewhere. You could start with the desert swing (Hope/Vegas/Phoenix) and then the California swing (Torrey/Pebble/CordeValle/Riviera)
Players could take a layover in Hawaii on the way to Malaysia and China and then the Euros can continue through the Dubai finish and others can opt for Australia before shutting down for a vacation.
In Hawaii.
Damn, those guys have it tought.
You brought to the surface some great memories. Who can forget that Els-Woods battle? Tied for the lead, Els goes Eagle-Birdie on the 18th (regulation and play-off) and yet still loses. That was great theater.
Now, just imagine how great the events would be if that were the actual schedule and not just my personal viewing habits...The entire PGA Tour is really just a travelling exhibition that pays way too much money to its revolving cast of performers. Why not condense it and cut out the fluff?
there used to be 2 or 3 events a year in a given community, be it a city, or a 3 county area. There used to be a dozen ''must see'' bands or performers....a few restaurants, 3 or 5 movies a year....just look at the thread on Phish and al the bands/guitar players mentioned, and that was lust the tip of the iceberg.
So as to pro golf... there is a sponsorship/local charity issue that is important, and to diss the current event because a few pros are not there... hey Fowler/Watson and any other player there would be welcome at any event and featured at that. There are 2 issues here.
1) the lack of respect the 7 mentioned are showing the hand that feeds them, and
2) the obvious number of events, overlapping and ever present, just like the number of concerts, restaurants, movies and on and on that will exist from this point forward- supply/demand.
To think less is going to happen is to not look at the face of the world we live in and say ''come on''. Dick Tracy's ''watch'' exists and the world holds a million other dreams of only a couple of decades ago.
We should embrace the world we live in- it won't ''go back''. It is exciting and as it was said--- hey , you don't have to watch.
@ Ian C, I get what you're saying. I'd hate to be an international spectator trying to follow 'big time' golf given it's NA bias.
But dsl did specify 'PGA tour' meaning the NA-centric pro tour and I agree with him. It's already too homogeneous and there's about to be a bunch more with the wraparound schedule. It's too much of the same old, same old.
And go to MSB to see how many movies are produced- some are released in DVD immediatel;y, or are for TV. Again- 24/7 would not allow even a partial ability to see it all.
And so it is the same for golf--- there is not too much--there are simply more choices.
Have a great weekend.
I mean the get tens of people to that thing!
Really don't even need ropes at that event, most Nationwide events are better attended.