Until recently, I have considered three golfers as pioneers of the game. Sure, you can find multiple lists with various golfers ranked for their various accomplishments and contributions to the game.
For me, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods stand out.
Bobby Jones
As an avid golfer, The Masters is my favorite tournament. It is the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. It truly is an indication that spring is around the corner and a signal to get my golf clubs ready for another season.
Every serious golfer that I know, has a dream to play there. The tradition of the tournament combined with the secrecy surrounding the grounds makes it a bucket list item.
We wouldn’t have this tournament if not for Bobby Jones. In 1930 Bobby Jones with investor Clifford Roberts bought the land and with course architect Alister MacKenzie co- designed Augusta National. Four years later, the first Masters tournament was contested.
Jack Nicklaus
Everyone has certain events in their life that they will never forget. Well, for me one of these events is Jack winning the Masters in April of 1986. I was sitting in the common lounge in residence at university.
I should have been studying for final exams. I wasn’t. I was glued to the TV set watching him make golfing history. It was his 6th Masters and 18th overall major championship at age 46.
I remember back in the day thinking his nickname ” The Golden Bear” was the coolest nickname that I’ve heard. In my opinion he is still the greatest golfer ever to play the game and his 18 major tournament victories will never be surpassed.
He is the standard that Tiger Woods measured himself by.
Tiger Woods
Speaking of Tiger, he is responsible for the explosion of prize money on the PGA tour and to some extent other tours. He has and continues to move the needle as far as viewership of golf tournaments.
Increased viewership means higher TV ratings which means greater prize money and sponsorships. The mystique he brought to the golf course in his prime was something that had never been seen before.
He was so intimidating in his prime that his opponents felt the pressure on Sundays and wilted under it. I am convinced that Tiger didn’t necessarily win some tournaments, rather his opponents lost and basically handed the title to Tiger.
In the world of professional golf and in my world, all three of these golfers have moved the needle. Jones founded my favorite tournament; Jack is my favorite golfer and Tiger was / (maybe still is) the most popular golfer of all time.
Until recently these three golfers were at the top my list. However, with the emergence of LIV Golf in 2022, there are three individuals who I think will be considered pioneers of golf if we fast-forward 10 years.
Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson and John Rahm are certainly viewed as disruptors and agitators. I believe they will be regarded as visionaries who ultimately changed the face of golf as we know it.
Greg Norman
I could have, maybe should have included him in my original list. I corrected that omission by including ” The Great White Shark ” – another great nickname – in my additions.
It all started in November of 1994 at Sherwood Country Club when he gathered prominent PGA Tour players at his own tournament “The Shark Shootout ” to discuss his idea for a new tour involving elevated events with a limited number of golfers.
Sound familiar?
This new tour was to be called ” The World Golf Tour”
If not for Arnold Palmer speaking up against it, the idea may have come to fruition. The framework and financing was in place.
In it’s place, The World Golf Championships – (WGC) initially 3 tournaments in 1999 growing to a total of 5 tournaments by 2009 was born.
Masters and The Open Championship winner Mark O’Meara, who was in attendance at the above-mentioned meeting in 1994, gives credit to Greg for the WGC saying and I quote “Whether you like Greg Norman or you don’t like Greg Norman, whether you like LIV or you don’t like LIV, he had some good ideas, to be fair, He knew golf was going to be a global game. To be fair, the World Golf Championships were his idea.” – source: article written by Rex Hoggard on February 28,2023 for NBC sports
I love the saying “The more things change , the more they stay the same” as well as “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Both are true for Norman. He knew that despite the PGA Tour efforts, golf is truly a global game. He truly was/ is a visionary. Today, he is the face of LIV Golf.
Phil Mickelson
Talk about another controversial figure. Phil was the first PGA Tour golfer to jump to LIV Golf in 2022, amongst much ridicule, I might add.
Like Greg, he proposed a super league before he left to join LIV Golf ( source – Golf Digest article written by Tod Leonord on March 7 , 2023 ) which was rejected by the commissioner of the PGA Tour – Jay Monahan. This venture had a $1 Billion commitment from a current PGA Tour partner for eight elevated events with equity and ownership to the players in these events.
He has been extremely vocal about monies that the PGA tour was not sharing with the players, specifically media rights and payment for the Netflix series ” Full Swing”.
In a Feb 2 , 2022 Golf Digest article written by John Huggan Phil is quoted as saying:
“It’s not public knowledge, all that goes on. But the players don’t have access to their own media. If the tour wanted to end any threat [from Saudi or anywhere else], they could just hand back the media rights to the players. But they would rather throw $25 million here and $40 million there than give back the roughly $20 billion in digital assets they control. Or give up access to the $50-plus million they make every year on their own media channel. “
“Lefty” as he is known is definitely a disruptor for the good of the game. I believe he relishes this reputation.
In the same March 7, 2023 Golf digest article, mentioned above, Tod Leornard wrote:
At LIV’s tournament in Saudi Arabia in October, Mickelson said, “I firmly believe that I’m on the winning side of how things are going to evolve and shape in the coming years for professional golf. We play against a lot of the best players in the world on LIV and there are a lot of the best players in the world on the PGA Tour. And until…both sides sit down and have a conversation and work something out, both sides are going to continue to change and evolve.”
He is a true visionary who has been incorrectly vilified ( because of the white noise that follows him ) for challenging the “old white man’s club” known as the PGA Tour for the betterment of professional golfers.
Bobby, Jack, Tiger, Greg and Phil have brought the game to where it is today. What about the future of golf? What will the landscape look like?
I believe John Rahm has an idea.
John Rahm
To bring us right up to date, on Thursday December 8, 2023, after months of speculation John Rahm confirmed on Fox News that effective immediately he is leaving the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf.
He gave us a few clues. His comments about not joining the PGA Tour policy board and his mysterious absence from Tiger’s tournament the “Hero World Challenge” were telltale signs that something was up.
What prompted this? What events changed his mind? After all, he was on record that he did not like LIV Golf’s format and that the money being offered wouldn’t change his lifestyle.
I believe he jumped ship for two reasons. He is frustrated with the stalemate of merger negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Golf and the PIF.
As well, he knows that the future of golf globally needs to involve some form of an additional super league.
I think he is confident that he can help change / tweak the following by accelerating a deal to complete the announced plan to merge between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund ( PIF )
- Golf professionals access to additional dollars.
- An integration of tours so that professional golfers will be eligible for the Ryder and President’s Cup regardless of the tour they play on.
- An improved World Golf Ranking System
- LIV Golf’s format.
How exciting is this? The evolution of professional golf once controlled basically by one tour – The PGA Tour – to one of global inclusion and partnership.
This new entity which will give more power to the players and additional excitement to fans is not only long overdue but also essential for a sport that up until now has been considered “niche”
What are your thoughts? We would love to hear from you on X at @JeffStanzel1 and @welikesportzpc
By Jeff Stanzel
*Photo courtesy of Sporting News
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