PGA Tour Already in Trouble?

Well, it's another year on the calendar and another year on the PGA Tour schedule. Traditionally, the Tour kicks off its year with the winners-only Mercedes Championships in Hawaii. This year, though, it doesn't seem like there is as much prestige and importance placed upon this event. Sure, the overwhelming number of Tour winners from last year will be in Hawaii. Hell, if they haven't been there since last week, then they are out of their minds.

But, there are some noticeable absences this week that diminish the quality of the season opener. It was already bad enough that Ernie Els and President's Cup hero Chris DiMarco could not qualify. Now, though, the tournament has indicated that Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, and Padraig Harrington will not be playing in this year's event. That leaves three top-10 ranked players in the field.

On any normal week, having three of the world's ten best in the field would be quite a coup. Tournament directors salivate about that kind of field strength. For the Mercedes Championships, though, this is a major disappointment. The Mercedes traditionally draws half, if not more, of the world's top ranked players. The above mentioned missing names are all in the top 10. That means, in a perfect world, the Mercedes could have had seven out of the world's top 10 on their grounds this week. That kind of thing only happens five to seven times per year.

Now, though, there is not much zip to the first event of the 2006 season. Sure, there are still the other winners of last season in Hawaii — including Vijay Singh and Jason Gore. But the event stands out because of the concentration of first-time winners and perennial champions. Now, that mix is skewed more toward first-timers and lesser-known players. The Mercedes, then, has lost its identity for this rendition.

The tournament makeup is an auspicious start to the 2006 season. During the year, the PGA Tour will negotiate its television contract, which has the FedEx Cup as its cornerstone selling tool. The Cup presumes that there will be more consistent Tour participation by top stars as they should be inclined to attempt to win the season-long points race. Except, what if the players are not enticed? What if the FedEx Cup turns out to be nothing more than what the World Golf Championships events have become? Or something worse?

The lack of participation from the starting gate in the 2006 season does not seem to indicate that the FedEx Cup will be good for the Tour. Think about it — next season, the Mercedes will be a free shot at points for the prior season's winners. There is no cut, and you are almost guaranteed to finish in a position to earn points. Yet, if the points and money are not enough of a motivator for the top players to get in the game in January (in Hawaii), then what good is the FedEx Cup? If I were a Tour official, I would be concerned.

Usually, I am not an alarmist. I tend to look at the larger picture and wait for a pattern to emerge. Unfortunately, though, the combination of the very busy "offseason" for many top stars combined with this less-than-desirable field for the Mercedes seems to indicate the formulation of a pattern. The Tour needs to find a way, or some political clout, that can compel the best players to be very active this year. Otherwise, the Tour's contract for the next several years will suffer, purses will stagnate or drop, and the game will not be able to continue to grow in popularity.

Perhaps, though, this is just an aberration in the history of the event. After all, this is the first time in the history of the Mercedes that this kind of absence has happened. Regardless, though, this story will continue to be crucial this year — perhaps one of the most important themes to the season. Whether conscious or not, if the pattern emerges and continues, the players will only be hurting themselves in the future.

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