ESPN+'s PGA Tour Live Appears To Deliver A Streaming Breakthrough For Golf

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This stubborn cable subscriber has been looking for streaming to show it can be better and mostly it’s been a clunkier version of the same picture quality. But the debut of ESPN+ coverage last week offered stunning pictures, fun multicasting and a clear path for golf's streaming future. I explain here.

Plus, a word on Kapalua's record scoring and how players clearly are not missing their green reading books or 46-inch-plus driver shafts.

The item is here for all to read because I was just so happy after watching the Rams and Chargers lose in devastating fashion. You can read more here on The Quad in 2022.

Let The Model Local Rules Begin! Major(s) News & Notes For January 6th, 2022

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Bifurcation begins Thursday at Kapalua. While reducing driver shaft length will likely only annoy Phil or Bryson, the player-driven ban on various green reading materials could impact a lot of top players. The bifurcation so many have desired has arrived! It’s a party! With killer views and Kona winds.

I explore those ramifications and a lot more in this week’s Quadrilateral, including the key major dates in 2022, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas going deep on two topics, Masters patrons get good news, Tweets, Reads and a YouTube archival find in this week's Major(s) News & Notes.

As always you can read more about The Quadrilateral here or subscribe here.

PIP Meet The PIFSIPSIA! Saudi International Names Sponsor, More Stars To Field

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After intense, last-minute negotiations, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has been named title sponsor of the Saudi International. Terms of the deal were not announced.

This means the full tournament name is the Public Investment Fund Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors, or, as they might want to call it around the LIV Golf team’s Slack: PIFSIPSIA.

More alarming for the PGA Tour and European Tour should be the continued addition of players to February’s field. Besides now having commitments from five of the world top 10, they’ve added Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. The allure of the Asian Tour!

The gold rush and late adds seem to be fueled by the PGA Tour’s “stand” against the existential threat, which included creating the widely-mocked PIP and granting of releases with meager consequences for players passing on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s a far cry from last summer when players were supposedly going to face membership expulsion for jumping ship. But the Saudis went out and got themselves some Asian Tour co-sanctioning and the snowball is picking up speed.

As Rex Hoggard notes here in the best possible light, the Tour was “slow” to grand competing event releases. If that’s the best they’ve got in their arsenal, it’s going to be a long year at the Global Home.

The PIF has assembled an impressive field at this point and sets up the potential for some fascinating names finding their way into the AT&T Pebble Beach field. As in, half the Champions Tour, all Korn Ferry grads, and definitely some Beljan’s and Uresti’s. Shoot, at this pace they may be the headliners!

Anyway, For Immediate Release with the new tournament logo included:


Reed, Finau, Smith join the world’s best with the PIF announced as new title sponsor for Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers 

January 3rd, King Abdullah Economic City, North of Jeddah:  An array of international stars has been added to the line-up for next month’s PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers – in what will be the Asian Tour’s strongest-ever field.

With the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced as the new title sponsor and a field packed with the world’s best players, the landmark tournament is set for a record-breaking edition when it returns to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, 3-6 February 2022.

2018 Masters Champion Patrick Reed will once again be returning to Saudi Arabia, playing in every tournament since the inaugural event in 2019. Another US Ryder Cup star confirmed is Tony Finau, who finished runner-up to Dustin Johnson last year and will be looking to go one better to kickstart his 2022 season.

Alongside four of the world’s top 10, the tournament will also see several new faces with a debutant for Matthew Wolff, one of golf’s hottest young talents. Further newcomers to KAEC will be exciting Australian trio Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Frenchman Victor Perez will also join a star-studded field competing for an increased prize purse of $5 million and one of the highest OWGR point totals in international golf. 

Previously announced players announced include defending champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson.

More Details About PGA Tour Live On ESPN+: 4300 Hours, 15-Person Announce Team And Continued Coverage During Network Windows

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As the new year and new TV deal are close, the PGA Tour and ESPN+ are rolling out more details of their ambitious coverage plans.

Standout elements of this figure to be Featured Hole coverage (assuming the right holes are selected), the early “Main Feed” essentially providing a traditional broadcast prior to Golf Channel’s coverage, the Marquee Group and the continuation of Featured Groups (depending on the groups) when the Golf Channel, NBC and CBS take over.

Whether ESPN influences any of this or some experimental efforts ala Peyton and Eli, remains to be seen. But at $6.99 a month, plus access to ESPN+’s Masters and PGA Championship feeds, along with +’s other offerings, it’s a steal for fans.

TOUR, ESPN+ Announce Details of Expanded and Extended Coverage Beginning in January 

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ set to launch January 2022

Four new streaming feeds more than triples live coverage 

to more than 4,300 exclusive hours

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – ESPN+ and PGA TOUR announced details for the inaugural season of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+, with extended and expanded coverage that more than triples the total coverage – adding more than 3,200 new hours of live streaming available for a total of more than 4,300 exclusive hours. All PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ coverage will be available to ESPN+’s more than 17.1 million subscribers.

In 2022, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will include live coverage of 35 tournaments – from the TOUR’s Hawaii events in January all the way through the FedExCup Playoffs and into the fall – with at least 28 events having four full days of coverage and four simultaneous live feeds each day. 

“The start of the PGA TOUR in 2022 will tee off a new and exciting opportunity for fans to watch the best golfers in the world,” said Burke Magnus, President, Programming and Original Entertainment, ESPN. “The new and expanded PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ is an incredible offering for golf fans – with more than three times the coverage from last season, while also bringing them access to thousands of other sporting events and original programming, all for $6.99 per month.”

With the launch of PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ comes new streaming feeds that will bring expanded coverage of events totaling more than 4,300 exclusive hours. Beginning with The American Express (January 20-23, 2022), PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will offer fans four live feeds for each tournament: 

  • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course;

  • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group;

  • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups;

  • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes.

When network television coverage begins, the four streams will pivot to two featured groups and two featured holes so fans can continue to engage with PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ in addition to the telecast.

Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer, PGA TOUR said, “The PGA TOUR couldn’t be more excited to launch a new era in content delivery with Disney and ESPN+, which will greatly expand and diversify our audience reach. There will be more content available to our fans than ever before with an exciting and diverse group of on-air talent delivering the action.

This expanded, unprecedented coverage, with over-the-top (OTT) streaming and emerging technologies moving to ESPN+, is part of the TOUR’s new nine-year domestic media rights portfolio announced in March 2020. 

The weekly production crew behind PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will increase from approximately 85 people to more than 210, with 16 cameras on the course, and a 15-person talent crew calling the action across the four channels. The expanded talent roster is still being finalized and will include current studio hosts John Swantek, Jonathan Coachman, Lisa Cornwell and Ned Michaels and on-course analysts Christina Kim, Karen Stupples, Mark Immelman, Chantel McCabe, Mark Wilson, Stuart Appleby and Michael Collins.

“We are excited about the growth of PGA TOUR LIVE and the opportunity to reach a larger audience on ESPN+,” said PGA TOUR Vice President and Executive Producer Greg Hopfe. “Four separately produced streams will showcase more action than ever before from top players and fan-favorite holes at each tournament. We look forward to being able to share nearly every shot from golf fans’ favorite players on ESPN+.”

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will cover both early January Hawaii events – Sentry Tournament of Champions and Sony Open in Hawaii – for the first time with Featured Groups coverage in the mornings, followed by Featured Holes in the afternoons. 

The complete four feed PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ offering will begin at The American Express. For more information, please visit frequently asked questions about PGA TOUR LIVE.    

PGA TOUR LIVE originally launched in 2015. ESPN+, launched in 2018, has grown to reach 17.1 million subscribers. The combined PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ will provide significant growth opportunities for PGA TOUR content via ESPN+’s digital reach, innovative platform and young and diverse audiences.  

PGA TOUR LIVE will be part of any ESPN+ subscription, at no additional cost, alongside more than 15,000 other live sporting events, acclaimed studio programs, original series and documentaries and a library of other on demand programming.

Golf programming on ESPN+ also includes The Masters (115 hours of live coverage, plus 50 hours of The Masters Films from 1960-2020), The PGA Championship (200 hours of live coverage, plus 30 hours of library and classic programming), as well as the original series America’s Caddie with Michael Collins, which will return in 2022 with new episodes throughout the PGA TOUR season. 

ESPN+ is available through the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices), ESPN.com or ESPNplus.com for just $6.99/month or $69.99/year. It is also part of The Disney Bundle, a one-stop streaming subscription offer that gives customers access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ for $13.99/month. 

Saudi International Commit List Sporting Some Big Names And Under-40's

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The lure of testing the game out on storied Royal Greens can never be underestimated, but more germane to the topic du jour it seems the Saudi’s are offering attractive appearance fees for this year’s edition. Now co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the former European Tour stop will be February 3-6, 2022. The Saudi International is the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Barring some sort of threat to the independent contractors that changes minds, these players will be defying the PGA Tour and DP World Tour threats of fines by playing. The Tours have until 30 days prior to the event to agree to or deny a waiver to play. As reported last week by the Telegraph, the DP World Tour leadership can now fine players whatever they like for playing a competing event.

It does not appear to have scared away some big names based on the commit list updated at Golf Saudi’s website:

  • Abraham Ancer

  • Adri Arnaus

  • Rafael Cabrera Bello

  • Paul Casey

  • Bryson DeChambeau

  • Jason Dufner

  • Tommy Fleetwood

  • Sergio Garcia

  • Tyrrell Hatton

  • Dustin Johnson

  • Jason Kokrak

  • Shane Lowry

  • Graeme McDowell

  • Phil Mickelson

  • Kevin Na

  • Joaquin Niemann

  • Louis Oosthuizen

  • Ian Poulter

  • Xander Schauffele

  • Adam Scott

  • Henrik Stenson

  • Harold Varner III

  • Jhonattan Vegas

  • Bubba Watson

  • Lee Westwood

Biggest surprises? Xander Schauffele for sure. Maybe Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson and Joaquin Niemann, too.

Schauffele is schedule to meet with media Wednesday at the Hero World Challenge.

2022 PGA Tour Broadcast Schedule: CBS Goes International, NBC Gets The Playoffs, ESPN+ To Have Four Daily Live Streams

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No major surprises on the 2022 broadcast schedule that commences a new television contract and with it, hopefully noticeable improvements on the streaming side now that a majority of production is to be under one umbrella. CBS has 20 events to NBC’s 12, with ESPN+ taking over from NBC Sports.

Details remain at a premium but we did get confirmation of four daily streams fed to ESPN+ starting with the American Express in La Quinta.

For Immediate Release:

PGA TOUR announces broadcast schedule for media partners NBC Sports, CBS Sports and ESPN+ for 2022

  • CBS Sports to feature 20 events and kicks off 2022 network coverage with the Farmers Insurance Open featuring the first scheduled Saturday finish on the PGA TOUR since 1996

  • NBC to televise all three FedExCup Playoffs events in August of 2022

  • ESPN+ to take over distribution of PGA TOUR LIVE and increase live coverage to four streaming channels

 PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – The PGA TOUR announced today the network and cable schedule for the 2022 portion of the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule, with CBS Sports (20 events) and NBC (12 events) maintaining weekend coverage for the majority of FedExCup tournaments. 

Under the new, nine-year domestic media rights agreements with ViacomCBS and Comcast NBCUniversal that begins in 2022, one network will televise all three FedExCup Playoffs events each year, starting with NBC in 2022, creating powerful, three-week coverage of the conclusion of the race for the FedExCup. CBS Sports will carry all three FedExCup Playoffs events in 2023. 

CBS Sports kicks off 2022 network coverage at the Farmers Insurance Open, January 28 and 29, on the CBS Television Network and streaming live on Paramount+. With a crowded sports weekend, the event features the first scheduled Saturday final round since 1996 that will have Friday and Saturday evening viewing on the East Coast with the broadcast ending at 8 p.m. ET both days.                    

NBC Sports will continue as the TOUR’s cable partner, with GOLF Channel providing early-round coverage and lead-in weekend coverage of every FedExCup event. GOLF Channel will also carry four-round coverage for six events.

PGA TOUR LIVE – the PGA TOUR’s subscription video service that was launched in 2015 – will make its 2022 debut with new over-the-top streaming (OTT) partner ESPN+ at the Sentry Tournament of Champions (January 6-9). Thirty-five PGA TOUR tournaments will be available via ESPN+ in 2022 featuring more than 4,300 hours of live coverage, including four daily live streams starting at The American Express (January 20-23). Additional details on content and scheduling will be available in the near future.  

“We are thrilled to announce our 2022 domestic coverage schedule for the PGA TOUR, as the lineup we have in place will ultimately be a significant win for our fans as we expand and innovate our content and its delivery going forward,” said Rick Anderson, PGA TOUR chief media officer. “Our existing partners CBS Sports and NBC Sports share our vision for the future and we are equally excited to be teaming with Disney and ESPN+ for what we see as an unparalleled opportunity to grow and diversify our fan base.”

I believe this will be CBS’s first foray outside North America…

Hard Sell Files: Monahan Notifies Players Of Pending Purse Bumps

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In a letter to PGA Tour players, Commissioner Jay Monahan loosened the reins, went to the whip early and rode this announcement way, way too hard.

Call the stewards! Inquiry! No Laying Up summarized and posted the letter to players that screams of greater desperation than you’d expect for such great news:

Ratings: Schwab Cup Beats Out The Houston Open Flatbellies

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That could be a fun band name: the Houston Open Flatbellies. Too bad in this case the name represents the never younger, more athletic, more popular PGA Tour fall collection of tournaments buoyed by FedExCup points but still losing to the geezers. Who says the Champions Tour is dead?

There is some positive news for golf: TNT’s Wednesday prime time hockey game pulled up the rear for the second week in a row, but still crushed golf in the only demo that matters.

Showbuzzdaily.com posted the 2021 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open ratings (.15/222,000 average viewers of which only 32,000 are of the magical 18-49 demo). Remember, I am not responsible for carpel tunnel caused by scrolling down to find the golf where, you’ll see the flatbellies were beaten by the Schwab Cup Championship featuring Phil Mickelson winning and Bernhard Langer capping off his sixth cup win.

An Inconvenient Sunday: Wins By Saudi Golf League Potentials Kokrak And Mickelson

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As middle-aged executives work the Global Home phones to stop a disruptor golf league from messing with their bonus structrue—imagine a Jerry Lewis telethon with way too many men in Gingham and khaki—the task got tougher Sunday. That’s because two potential players who have been linked to taking a dictator’s “sovereign” money happened to win on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

Jason Kokrak, Golf Saudi’s proud ambassador, recovered from Saturday’s back nine 41 to win the Houston Open and the privilege of posing with a furry “Astro” clad in the colors best associated with owner Jim Crane’s special brand of dishonest baseball. See, I resisted the urge to call them cheaters. Progress! But boy, for a game of integrity, golf sure has its share of shysters.

Anyhoo…over on the PGA Tour Champions, Phil Mickelson, who has recently blasted away at the PGA Tour’s business structure and could pocket a massive payday if he doesn’t mind mingling with Greg Norman, won for the fourth time in six geezer Tour starts as Bernhard Langer took his sixth Schwab Cup. The key differences between Mickelson and Langer? One captured a major this year and seems primed to bolt from the PGA Tour while wearing his sunglasses to trophy ceremonies. The other is just a freak at age 64.

Houston’s final round highlights. Though they might vanish from The Tube if Kokrak takes the SGL money…

Mexico Open Is Now A PGA Tour Event In Parternership With Grupo Salinas And A Greg Norman-Designed Course

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The organizers of the WGC Mexico City Championship are back, minus the city and the WGC moniker, announcing a PGA Tour stop in late April. The new location is Puerto Vallarta’s Vidanta Vallarta resort. Conspicuously left out of the press release: the course to be played.

However, the resort did confirm that players will be teeing up on The Norman Signature Course. As in, Greg Norman, the man currently helming a possible global golf tour hostile to the PGA Tour’s interests. I’m sure it’s just part of a slow drip approach to revealing this exciting news.

For Immediate Release:

Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México to host Mexico Open

Grupo Salinas, PGA TOUR continue commitment to promote golf in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – The PGA TOUR and tournament host, Grupo Salinas, announced today that Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México will host the 2022 Mexico Open, April 25-May 1, 2022, previously listed on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule as the Mexico Championship.
The Mexico Open, which dates back to 1944 and is considered Mexico’s national championship, will appear on the PGA TOUR schedule for the first time as an official FedExCup event, offering 500 FedExCup points to the winner and a purse of $7.3 million. The field of 132 players will include 12 sponsor exemptions, with a minimum of four players from Latin America.

Since 2017, Grupo Salinas partnered with the PGA TOUR to stage a TOUR event in Mexico – the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – with efforts to inspire and grow the game in the country, especially among juniors. Starting in 2022, the Mexico Open will continue Grupo Salinas’ commitment, uniting the PGA TOUR with the history of professional golf in Mexico in the form of the Mexico Open.

The new name and tournament venue were announced during a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico, featuring Fernando Lemmen-Meyer, President of the Mexican Golf Federation; Iván Chávez, Executive Vice President of Grupo Vidanta; John Norris, Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs of the PGA TOUR, and Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Grupo Salinas. Also in attendance were PGA TOUR members Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer. Both Ortiz (2020 Vivint Houston Open) and Ancer (2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational) captured PGA TOUR events during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, becoming just the third and fourth citizens of Mexico to win on the PGA TOUR. Ancer, who played for the International Presidents Cup Team in 2019, recently qualified for his third straight TOUR Championship in 2020-21, finishing ninth in the FedExCup. 
“At Grupo Salinas we are honored to host a world-class event in our country, reaffirming our commitment to grow golf in Mexico and to generate new interests and passions around this sport, especially in younger generations,” said Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice president of the board of directors of Grupo Salinas. “For this reason, we are convinced of the importance of taking this type of events to other locations within the country and thereby sending a clear message; golf is not owned by just a few, it belongs to everyone: that is what we will always defend at Grupo Salinas.”

The press conference highlighted the progress of The First Tee México program, a non-profit organization, launched by Grupo Salinas in 2017, which has promoted golf and its values ​​for the development of Mexican young generations. The First Tee Mexico has grown to include nine chapters and has made a positive impact on more than 250 young people through the game of golf, promoting key societal values such as honesty, respect, trust, integrity, perseverance and teamwork. 

“We’ve worked closely with Grupo Salinas since the inception of the Mexico Championship in 2017. As tournament hosts, Grupo Salinas has been first-class in every respect – making this stop a favorite among our players while entertaining fans in Mexico and around the world,” said John Norris, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs.

In the United States, the event will be broadcast live on CBS, Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ and Sirius XM PGA TOUR Radio. 

PGA Tour's Bermuda Championship Fails To Fill Out 132-Player Field

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Even though the Butterfield Bermuda Championship is offering a two-year exemption to the winner, full FedExCup points, a Masters invite and a week at Port Royal, the event is only going to be played with 127 players instead of the 132 planned.

A whopping 8 of the world top 100 are entered and just 28 from inside the top 200 will be there. An amazing 34 of the players are not in the world top 1000.

Golf.com’s Dylan Dethier explains what went wrong and some of the names called upon who passed. The main issue appears to be a long season, tough travel from Japan, product oversaturation fueled by the need to pad executive bonuses, and most of all, Bermuda’s vaccination requirement, whined about a few weeks ago by former Tour player with apparent status, and brief Golf Channel tryout, Charlie Beljan (his deleted Tweet above).

This is amazing:

Soon the alternates who had initially accepted places in the Port Royal event started revoking their acceptances, too.

Bradley was in, then out. In came Jonathan Kaye and Frank Lickliter II. Then out they went. Tommy Armour III got in, as did Will MacKenzie. One by one, they each dropped, too. There’s room in here for a Bermuda Triangle joke about mysterious disappearances but folks, we’re steering clear of that one and sailing for safer waters.

Others declined before their number had even been called. Jason Gore of USGA fame. Smylie Kaufman of Spring Break fame. Omar Uresti of PGA Professional fame. The 132-player field is already smaller than summertime Tour events, due to daylight this time of year, but the number of eligible players was shrinking quickly.

While Olin Browne didn’t make the featured groups, he’s in the field. Some amazing names on display here.

The featured groups headlined by tournament betting favorite Matthew Fitzpatrick:

2021 ZOZO, Other Fall Golf Events Fail To Draw A Rating

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The ZOZO moved back to Japan after a one-year stop at Sherwood and without Tiger Woods contending, apparently off all radar screens.

Showbuzzdaily’s weekly roundup included no detectable golf broadcast ratings for Hideki Matsuyama’s ZOZO win, Jin Young Ko’s BMW Ladies Championship win, or Bernhard Langer’s historic Dominion Energy Classic win, all on Golf Channel.

But I’m sure the streaming numbers were yuuuuuge!

The last time the ZOZO was played in Japan, Tiger won the 2019 edition and drew pretty solid numbers for late night viewing:

Rory's CJ Cup Win Draws A Small And Annoyed Audience

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The fall wraparound schedule’s dismal ratings were predicted from the outset and remain awful even after the addition of FedExCup points. As if anyone besides family and friends care. Even that is debatable.

The tiny audiences are even manageable if sponsors are willing to pay millions for the privilege of a pro-am round or in the case of the CJ Cup in normal times, bringing the PGA Tour to Korea. But with all sports returning to normal and golf having given viewers more than enough “product” over the last 18 months, something extraordinary must happen to draw a decent audience when going against college football, the NFL, MLB playoffs, WNBA playoffs, NHL and Premier League soccer.

Theoretically, such a rare event occurred at the CJ Cup, where Rickie Fowler led through 54-holes in his quest to win again after a quiet two years. Add Rory McIlroy and reigning Open Champion Collin Morikawa into the mix of pursuers, and this one had something.

But as we now know, the Champions Tour ran 39 minutes late and without a reliable online feed or PGA Tour Live Featured Group coverage, momentum stalled and the day will remembered more for the struggle to actually see any of these young stars play golf.

As Showbuzzdaily.com notes, golf was again at the bottom of the weekend sports ratings by a lot, with the Champions not making the list of discernable audiences. The CJ Cup, with its 5 pm ET scheduled start, at least drew an average audience of 648,000, with just 92,000 of those in the coveted demo.

That was good enough, however, to beat out the 9:05 ET Air Force-Boise State game for non-cataracts-dotted eyeballs.

The 2020 CJ Cup was also played in Las Vegas and drew a 589,000/105,000 for a .36). The Champions also drew ratings last year, unlike 2021.

There is happy ending: executives at the PGA Tour and Golf Channel have reached out to fans, media and sponsors to ensure this scheduling fiasco does not happen again. After all, mistakes do happen who knew the Champions would take that long and…wait, wrong people. My bad. They haven’t said a peep.

Wouldn’t you love to make six or seven figures and not give a hoot about the product you sell or the customers you want to reach?

Rory Wins His 20th PGA Tour Title And Viewers Even Got To See Some Of It!

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The CJ Cup relocated to a Fazio built near where Blue Origin lands rockets and despite The Summit offering up his usual insipid design, somehow attracted a stellar leaderboard.

Rickie Fowler wanted back in the winner’s circle but Colin Morikawa and then eventual winner Rory McIlroy passed him down the stretch for his 20th PGA Tour win. And we barely got to see it. At least, by modern golf TV standards.

A predictable confluence of issues arose to deprive American fans of seeing the leaders until their 9th hole when the action started to dull. The PGA Tour Champions’ SAS Championship ran long and then into a sudden death playoff. This cut the first 15 minutes out of the CJ Cup’s three-hour allotted window before Golf Channel tried a split screen that didn’t soothe angry viewers who’d already missed most of the front nine. Soon, the Champions took priority with Bernhard Langer taking his sweet time and Miguel Angel Jimenez trying to pass Lee Janzen. Eventually, the playoff ended, Janzen gave an emotional interview following a winning birdie putt, and those all-important Schwab Cup standings were shown.

The coverage ran 39 minutes late.

What went wrong?

The first groups of the SAS Championship did not tee off until 9:45 am ET, with the leaders going at 11:55 a.m. ET. Apparently the geezers needed their beauty rest?

Also, the Champions played in threesomes. Breaking five hours is out of the question on any tour playing threesomes, meaning the leaders were bound to finish at the CJ Cup’s 5 p.m. ET start. To account for the withering Schwab Cup race pressure and the possibility of a playoff, the Champions should have teed off a least 45 minutes earlier.

Making all of this worse: the Golf Channel app did not work for those attempting to stream the CJ Cup and there is no PGA Tour Live coverage option to run a stream of the coverage. The Comcast-ravaged operation appears to be running out the clock until a new media deal starts in January 2022, one where the PGA Tour takes more control (though they already have a foot in the door when it comes to programming and scheduling, so this weekend’s fiasco is largely a Global Home-based screw-up).

Perhaps in the future the Tour will find a place for this coverage or use other networks when increasingly longer rounds are running into each other? Of course, NBC is also folding their namesake sports channel soon, so that’s one less option. If they care, a major question at this point.

Ultimately this was just bizarre combo platter of bad scheduling, bad tee time math, slow play, a playoff and the leadership worrying about everything but putting out a good product. And boy did they hear about it.

I’ve seen my share of viewer-rage slaughters on social media, and even with most sports fans watching other things Sunday, there was understandable interest in this leaderboard. The rage was intense. But fans need to get used to this. Play not getting any faster as every par-5 is reachable and no one is forced to rush. Coupled with a host network that is just trying to get something on the air and a Tour focused on everything but the way its product looks, this is bound to happen again.

More of the feedback to a pinned PGA Tour Tweet announcing the Sunday start time:

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A Fresh Example Of A Ten-Second Rule Violation Unbeknownst To The Broadcast Team

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Here’s a public service message for those not aware of a rule seemingly known to most with a golf pulse: you cannot let the ball hang on the cup edge for longer than ten seconds in hopes it might fall. This was an easy one but because we’re in a State TV era where it must be positivity all the time, we can’t know for sure what caused the Golf Channel broadcast team to not even suggest a possible rules violation (while fans watching and Tweeting knew it right away—see replies to the video posted above.

To recap: Seonghyeon Kim obviously took way too long with his ball on the 18th hole edge and was penalized one stroke after the CJ Cup final round. On cue, the Tour’s rules staff saw the obvious breach and this news was Tweeted:

The rule:

Screen Shot 2021-10-17 at 4.57.32 PM.png

They did eventually acknowledge the breach, with Steve Sands suggesting the broadcast team was “worried about the time frame” but that it didn’t seem to be “much of an issue.”

Kim’s ball hung on the edge for 24 seconds.