Did The New Schedule Make The Majors Stronger?
/
As a fan of The Players in May, I had doubts the new tighter PGA Tour schedule would flow well and protect the place of the majors. Yet a rejuvenated Florida swing and more balanced spacing of 2019 majors seemed to strengthen golf’s four majors.
I’m not really sure how such a thing is measured, but on anecdotal evidence, the majors are stronger than ever.
Justin Rose did suggest the downtime between majors was too short—and he may have been speaking for many of his peers—but the fan perspective seemed to relish the new tighter pacing between the big four.
Check out this fine ratings wrap for 2019 from Robopz that confirms, even with some numbers down, the strength of the big four stands out in an overall (slightly) down final round ratings year (like all sports):
Another sign of majors as the most important events in golf came in Doug Ferguson’s AP case for Rory McIlroy as player of the year over Brooks Koepka.
It's a strong case for McIlroy.
Except for the majors.
Along with winning the PGA Championship for the second straight year - Woods is the only other play to win back-to-back at the PGA in stroke play - Koepka finished one shot behind Woods at the Masters and chased Gary Woodland to the end at Pebble Beach before finishing second at the U.S. Open.
He tied for fourth in the British Open, nine shots behind Shane Lowry.
McIlroy had only a pair of top 10s in the majors, and the biggest blow was missing the cut at the British Open at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland.
Majors matter. All four of them.
This is not to downplay the enjoyment derived from other weeks of the year or the great efforts of players in non-majors. It’s just a reminder that players, fans and media care a lot more four times a year. Maybe more than ever thanks to the new schedule.
