There was something missing at TPC Sawgrass - how does professional golf find itself again?

After a turbulent few weeks that saw the PGA Tour announce a dramatic shift in format from 2024 onwards in a bid to combat the rise of LIV Golf, the playing of the annual Players Championship, often referred to as golf’s fifth major, was seen as a much-needed opportunity for the world to finally focus on golf again. Any talk of new formats and the subsequent fallout was set to drift away and be replaced by red-hot competition; this breath of fresh air would seemingly remind everyone why they loved the sport. 

Much ado about nothing

Only now that the last grandstand has been taken down at TPC Sawgrass following the conclusion of the Players Championship, you’re left with the unmistakable feeling that golf is still missing something as attention turns towards Augusta, Georgia for the Masters tournament. The latest golf odds today price Rory McIlroy as the favorite to win the green jacket at +800, but you can’t help shake the feeling that golf has lost a part of its soul.

Naturally, it is a damning state of affairs when even the usually tantalizing prospect of Augusta National in spring where McIlroy could make history by completing a career Grand Slam, is not raising pulses as before. 

What has happened and how does golf find itself again?

The divide between the players and officials on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf is certainly to blame for the current indifference that fans feel towards the professional game.

Worryingly, it is a rift that is only widening as both organizations fight tooth and nail to capture the world’s golfing market. Essentially, it is the age-old traditions of golf that are paying the price for this win-at-all-costs approach when you consider the sweeping reform that is being implemented at breakneck speed. There has, in effect, been a complete disregard for the fundamentals on which the game was built.

The consequence of this rapid shake-up is that it undermines the historic values of the game and this is why fans have been left feeling apathetic when it comes to the current goings-on in professional golf.

How does the game heal?

Reconciliation is perhaps the only solution when it comes to a bright future and that means both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have to get around the meeting table and find a way to successfully collaborate. Failing to do so will see both their products drop dramatically in value as legacy supporters slowly begin to turn away from the sport. 

Ironically, Mcllory’s recent point before the Players Championship got underway about the difficulty in keeping golf relevant and how the battle to do that has never been harder was certainly true. Only, it was made in favor of profound change at the expense of golf’s heritage which is unlikely to be a sustainable path to carry on hurtling down.

As you can see, this is a complicated situation but the longer the two organizations of PGA and LIV go head to head instead of finding some middle ground, the more the sport will turn into something that is unrecognizable.