PGA Tour Schedule: There is a Need for Fun Alternative Events

In many ways, the events on the PGA Tour schedule are like chocolate cake. They may not be overly creative or fun, but they provide great entertainment and consistently showcase the best golfers on the planet.

This weekend on the PGA tour schedule, we just watched a thrilling Honda Classic. Vijay Singh contended at 56 years old, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler made late Sunday charges, and relatively unknown Keith Mitchell navigated the ‘Bear Trap’ and drained an awesome birdie on the 72nd hole to win.

Waking up a winner on the PGA TOUR.

A day @K_m_Mitchell will always remember.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/jFhU6ufDNZ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 4, 2019

It has been proven season after season that the traditional 72 holes of stroke play is the best way to identify the top players deserving of a title. But, even after the excitement of Sunday’s final round, I find myself craving something different and fun; truly, I want more events that stray from the norm.

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Now, there are many positives to the current schedule. With the exception of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, each week is incredibly monotonous. Golfers (like all athletes) are creatures of habit, and they want to follow the same routine. They want to know when to arrive, what they need to do to prepare, and ultimately how they need to play in order to contend for a title.

We want the top players to have a chance to win each week, and the current schedule allows Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler to rise to the cream of the crop. At the Honda Classic, we saw the best players down the stretch Sunday and it was incredibly fun. If an event does not fit into the routine players enjoy, then they will likely skip it and fans will be robbed of the chance to watch their favorites battle on the weekend.

With all of this being said, the current monotony on the PGA Tour schedule is well, incredibly boring. We don’t even need to look too far back; at the WGC-Mexico Championship, Dustin Johnson had such a large lead over Rory McIlroy (and Rory had a sizeable lead over the rest of the field) that Saturday and Sunday were dull. At Pebble Beach, Phil Mickelson ran away with the event; Justin Rose had a stranglehold at Torrey Pines and won with ease. Were any of those events fun? I would argue no.

Week to week, we are often at the mercy of the leaderboard, and the event feels like a drag if the leader solidifies his position over the weekend. That is why I believe the PGA Tour needs more week-to-week variety with their events and inject more fun into the season.

One idea is for players to team up in a marquee event (no offense to the Zurich Classic). Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas on a team? Even if they both play poorly, that gives me a compelling reason to tune in Thursday morning. What if there were crossovers with the LPGA & PGA Champions Tour? Rickie Fowler and Danielle Kang facing off against Bernard Langer and Brooks Koepka in a Friday afternoon battle? That sounds like so much fun!

Another fun change would be a Skins Match. The LG Skins Game stopped in 2008 and there have been no serious discussions to bring the event back. The event provided many fun, memorable moments, such as Fred Funk wearing a skirt in 2005; I would be thrilled if the PGA Tour added a Skins Match to the schedule.

Now, these alternative events need to incentivize the players, so FedExCup and OWGR points (along with a nice check) should be on the line. It makes perfect sense to sprinkle in events like this throughout the year – especially in the fall when golf competes against football on the weekends.

There are many reasons the PGA Tour schedule does not have these events, and for good reason. They have no major competition in the U.S., and most American talent chooses to play domestically instead of the European Tour. Because of this, there is no incentive to innovate, as fun does not always equal profit.

The PGA Tour also wants to please their players, and as I mentioned above changing the format of events would throw off their routines. The last thing the PGA Tour needs is to turn off players to events, as this would alienate sponsors and lead to a myriad of economic issues.

dark. Next. The WGC’s non-competitive side

I do not suggest these alternative events take over the schedule, but maybe add an event every 2 months to intrigue fans to try something new. This would provide a taste of something different and give us some fun events in an otherwise long and monotonous PGA Tour season. Because, as good as chocolate cake is, sometimes a new dessert can be even better.

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