PGA Tour Not Likely To Be Allowing Shorts Anytime Soon

/

Former PGA of America president Ted Bishop suggests the organization he once served jumped the gun on allowing shorts at their major, solidifying it as the fourth of four and clearly not coordinating this European Tour-driven idea with the PGA Tour.

It's worth noting in the quote below that PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, more progressive than his predecessor, cites the pro-am appearance as a legitimately good reason for not budging. After all, do you want your picture taken with someone who looks like a professional in uniform, or in shorts looking like it's a casual round?

It appears that the PGA Tour was not consulted by the PGA this time. Similar to yanking the Fall Series from the Ryder Cup points system, the PGA of America pulled the trigger on a new shorts policy to the apparent surprise of the Tour. I’m not saying that the PGA needs to ask the Tour for permission to do anything, but when a policy affects both organizations, collaboration should be required. It’s another example of the PGA being shortsighted.

In a statement, Monahan pointed to the Tour’s unique relationship with sponsors during Wednesday pro-am rounds.

“That special experience, which no other sport can provide – where one of the world’s best players can play alongside two, three or four amateurs and those amateurs can look at that player playing the same clothes, the same club, the same course over the next four days – we think that’s really special,” he said. “We want to do everything we can to protect that.”    

Fox! Value Of TV Deal Has Players Wanting More U.S. Open Say

/

The USGA's recent U.S. Open purse bump sounds as it was influenced by PGA Tour player talk at recent player meetings, reports Rex Hoggard for GolfChannel.com.

Players feel they are still underpaid based on TV deals, with the Fox-USGA's known price tag making it easy for them to do some math and realize they are not paid proportionally with revenues. However, a $25 million purse would make a mess of things. So...

Instead, the players at the meeting focused on how the additional revenue could possibly be used, from additional funding for Web.com Tour purses, to rookie stipends or even a caddie retirement plan, which is currently a hot-button topic because of an ongoing lawsuit between the circuit and a group of caddies.

According to the USGA’s financial statement for 2016 about half (49 percent) of its revenues ($98.7 million) came from broadcast rights fees, while about half (46 percent or $91.5 million) of its operating expenses were related to its “open championships.”

And if it's not bad enough for the Executive Committee to possibly have to face giving up some of their profits, it gets more intriguing:

One player who spoke at the meeting and requested anonymity because of the potential for future negotiations said the concern goes deeper than simply a fair share of the TV rights, and that players want a say in future venues and how the championship is run, pointing out last year’s rules snafus at both the U.S. Open and Women’s Open.

It’s unclear how far the players would be willing to take a potential negotiation with the USGA or any of the game’s other ruling bodies.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not going to boycott a major,” one player said.

Five Families Fun: U.S. Open Purse Jumps To $12 Million

/

The PGA Tour and PGA of America joined forces in 2013 to match and increase their signature championship's purses as part of a new collaboration. The move by two of the five families significantly bumped payouts to The Players and PGA Championship winners, and eventually pushed the USGA to the $10 million mark.

But as Joel Beall reports for GolfDigest, the USGA's announced move to $12 million should the attention of players.

"When you look at the USGA championships, by and large just about any way you look at, they’re the most important championships not only in the U.S. but in the world," Mike Davis, USGA executive director/CEO, said on Saturday prior to the USGA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. "And we talked about that and said the purses really should reflect that.”

The winner's share will see a significant raise as well. Last season, Dustin Johnson received $1.8 million for his efforts at Oakmont. This year's champion will take home $2.16 million.

The doubling of the purse since 2003 makes the U.S. Open, at least for now, the richest prize in major championship golf. The move also will bolster the U.S. Open ahead of an anticipated schedule shakeup that could permanently place the PGA Championship ahead of the U.S. Open.

Will the Tataglia's and Barzini's of Florida raise their $10.5 million purses perhaps sooner than planned?

PGA In May Could Come Down To Data Points

/

Rex Hoggard considers the pros and cons of schedule changes that would annually send The Players to March in exchange for a May PGA and a pre-labor day FedExCup. That deal is on the table from PGA Tour Coommissioner Jay Monahan, but whether the PGA of America pulls the trigger will come down to golf courses and "data points."

Hoggard points out the big agronomic issues with northern courses that host four of the next seven PGA Championships.

“When you run a major championship it starts and ends with the quality of the golf course, it starts and ends with the quality of the competition,” Bevacqua said.

But for every Hazeltine, Whistling Straits and Oak Hill, there will be southern courses that could replace them in May. So won't this, like most things, come down to the numbers?

Bevacqua explained it’s not a single factor that could see the PGA move to a new spot on the calendar, but instead a collection of data points – from golf course availability to how a May vs. August date could impact TV viewing.

“What would it mean to the quality of the broadcast, what would be a more powerful timeframe to broadcast the PGA?” Bevacqua asked hypothetically.

Since the PGA is now usually the second highest-rated major, August would seem more logical. But clearly there is a piece in this puzzle luring the PGA to consider a move to May and Mothers Day weekend. Only time will tell what that piece is.

Former PGA Prez: "PGA Championship in May? No way"

/

Former PGA of America president Ted Bishop pens an item for the Morning Read questioning the possible PGA Championship move to May?

Given Bishop's intimate working knowledge of the current PGA of America way of thinking, his insights are particularly impactful. If this were match play, Bishop sees PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan winning this one 5&4 over the PGA of America's Pete Bevacqua.

Bishop suggests agronomy as the main concern, especially in the greater New York area.

Worse yet, May virtually eliminates some of the classic PGA Championship venues such as Hazeltine, Medinah, Whistling Straits and Baltusrol. Because of climatic conditions, the PGA Championship map would shrink if the event were to move to May or earlier. 

Early spring jeopardizes even Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., a site owned by the PGA and one that Bevacqua seemingly has shunned. In 2012, the PGA spent $5.5 million in course renovations and delivered a memorable ’14 championship won by Rory McIlroy as darkness fell. There is nothing on the docket for Valhalla. It will be the first time since 1996 that the PGA has gone longer than four years in playing a PGA, Ryder Cup or Senior PGA at its own facility. Louisville is renowned for the Kentucky Derby in early May, so where does the PGA Championship fit in the corporate picture later in the month at Louisville? It fits nowhere.

As for the PGA of America's motive in listening to the PGA Tour on this, Bishop speculates...

Maybe it makes sense for Monahan to cough up the PGA’s purse of $10 million per year to cement his FedEx deal for the future. It still would be a bad deal for the PGA, which can own the August sports calendar for three out of every four years.

50 Years Ago This Week A Club Pro Won On The PGA Tour

/

Granted, he was the legendary Tom Nieporte of Winged Foot, but as Tom Cunneff writes for Golf.com, he is believed to be the last legitimate sweater-folder to beat the flatbellies.

Cunneff writes of the 1967 Bob Hope Classic:

After all, Nieporte wasn’t even a tour pro when he won the Hope at age 37. He was the head pro at Piping Rock Golf Club on Long Island when he outplayed the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, and Floyd at La Quinta Country Club. After opening with a 76 that left him 10 shots off the lead, Nieporte carded three 68s to trail defending champ Doug Sanders by one shot heading into the fifth and final round. With an estimated 30,000 spectators on hand enjoying a perfect day in the desert, Sanders was still a stroke ahead after nine, but Nieporte’s 25-foot birdie putt on 11 pulled him even. Another birdie on 18 from 12 feet gave him a one-shot lead at 11 under par. Playing a hole behind Nieporte, Sanders had a chance to tie him on 18 and force a playoff, but his long birdie attempt just missed.

Thomas's 59 Highlights PGA Tour's Digital Conundrum

/

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan highlighted digital as a big part of his focus and has expressed a desire for the PGA Tour to obtain ownership or partial ownership of the channel showing his tour product.

This has prompted the PGA Tour to create PGA Tour Live to show pre-Golf Channel coverage and to establish another option for showing golf, with the long term goal of possibly becoming home to Thursday and Friday coverage once the current Golf Channel deal expires (2021).

But when Justin Thomas teed off early and posted a Sony Open 59 Thursday, he exposed several weaknesses in the PGA Tour approach to digital, starting with PGA Tour Live sitting out the two Hawaii events, presumably due to cost. This isn't surprising given the expense of doing golf in Hawaii and the tour's propensity for saving a buck, as evidenced by PGA Tour-managed events ending spectator access to practice round days.

Golf Channel, set to start Sony coverage at 6 pm ET, did pick up the last two holes of Thomas's 59 more than one hour before scheduled sign-on time. Yet the PGA Tour directed fans to Facebook Live where the 8th 59 in tour history was seen through the cell phone camera of PGATour.com's Ben Everill (who, btw, did an excellent job analyzing the scene).

However, this is not exactly the most scintillating way to see a 59:

Would the PGA Tour's new Twitter streaming deal have helped? Nope. It's merely a way to preview PGA Tour Live coverage in the weeks PGA Tour Live is covering golf.

In the case of Thomas's 59, had the PGA Tour linked to Golf Channel's Golf Live Extra, fans would have been asked to log in via their cable provider. Sorry cord cutters!

Yet given the lack of PGA Tour Live presence this week, the PGA Tour should have worked out something to provide fans with a better view. 

According to the PGA Tour's Ty Votaw, the issue was contractual, requiring all viewing to go through Golf Channel's Golf Live Extra. Yet the tour directed fans to a PGATour.com reporter's cell phone video at Facebook Live, with no social link for Golf Channel cable viewers. By having PGA Tour social accounts not promote the Golf Channel's online streaming of the last two holes, it's been made clear the partners are not working together, even in a non-PGA Tour Live week.

This will not be the last time fans are caught in the middle of leveraging tension between the tour and Golf Channel.

Commish Monahan Pledges Tour Return To Miami, Shorter Playoffs

/

New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sat down with Golf Channel's Rich Lerner at Kapalua, with part one of their chat airing on Monday's Golf Central (part two is set for Tuesday's Morning Drive).

He touches on slow play at the 7 minute mark and the answer isn't encouraging given that he cites the tour's ability to sign off on time for television as a sign that things are okay.

But of more immediate note were remarks on trying to return to the Miami market, but probably not to the president-elect's Trump Doral.

“Like any relationship, we’re committed to finding a way to get back there.”

Monahan said the Tour continues to seek a new sponsor for the Miami stop, which has been a Tour stable since 1962, and that it’s “highly likely” that the circuit would return to South Florida.

But at Trump Doral? Monahan was not that specific.

As for the impact Trump’s presidency...

“We see president-elect Trump as being probably the best golfer to ever sit in office and probably the most golf knowledgeable,” he said. “For the game, that’s a tremendous thing.”

Best golfer to ever sit in the White House? They say the president from Massachusetts was pretty good.

He seemed to lower expectations for a potential PGA Tour schedule ending by Labor Day, but did confirm that if the PGA of America moves its championship to May and all other dominos fall, that the playoffs will be shortened by one tournament.

Monahan said no decisions on possible changes have been made and that the other players in the mix, most notably the PGA of America which would give up its spot as the year’s last major, would need to see the value of a possible makeover.

“It’s not as though we’re going to say this is the schedule, everyone has to adapt,” he said. “Our responsibility is to work very closely with the PGA of America and it’s got to work for everybody.”

Another piece of those changes would likely be a reduction of the number of FedEx Cup Playoff events, from four to three, and Monahan confirmed postseason contraction is a consideration. “If we were to execute the schedule that I just mentioned I think it’s likely,” he said.

Based on sponsorship contracts, that would likely mean the end of the Boston stop, leaving New York and Chicago/Midwest as the two "playoff" events.

Part one here: