May 13, 2024

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It’s PGA Championship week, and the spotlight is on Scottie Scheffler, for better or for worse. … Still, Tiger Woods remains the biggest draw off the course. … Some lucky LIV Golf players are teeing it up in Louisville. … Michael Block is back for one last ride. … And Valhalla Golf Club has quite the history for a young course.

Also: Make sure you watch and listen to today’s episode of Front Office Sports Today [[link removed]], as Tom Brady returns to the show to talk about one of his sports ownership endeavors—just maybe not the one you’re thinking of.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Scottie Scheffler’s Dominance on the Links: A Boon or Bane for Golf? [[link removed]]

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

One player comes into the PGA Championship with the eyes of the golf world upon him: Scottie Scheffler (above). This year’s Masters champion has won four out of his last five tournaments, and he is the overwhelming favorite to lift the trophy at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville.

But Scheffler’s victory at Augusta National, his second green jacket, didn’t seem to generate widespread mainstream interest. CBS drew an audience of roughly 9.5 million viewers for Sunday’s final round, down 20% from the 12 million that watched Jon Rahm come from behind to beat Brooks Koepka in 2023. At the time, Front Office Sports media expert Michael McCarthy asked the question [[link removed]]: “Does golf TV have a Scottie Scheffler problem?”

Well, Scheffler won again the following week on Hilton Head Island, S.C., but the final round, which was interrupted by a rain delay, garnered [[link removed]] 2.15 million viewers, down almost 50% from last year when 4.15 million people watched the conclusion of the RBC Heritage tournament, in which Matthew Fitzpatrick beat Jordan Spieth in a playoff. Scheffler hasn’t played since then, as he’s been awaiting the birth of his first child.

What’s the Deal?

Is Scheffler really what’s keeping more people from turning into golf broadcasts, though? At least one sports media expert thinks that the LIV Golf–PGA Tour battle, not Scheffler’s dominance, is the biggest reason for viewership declines. “You lose some competitive aspects,” Lee Berke, the president and CEO of consultancy LHB Sports, Entertainment & Media, tells FOS.

That reasoning could explain why PGA Tour TV audiences aren’t as high this year, but not why the Masters was down, as all of the top LIV players competed at Augusta. So, what about Scheffler’s dominance? Is it too much? “I think people appreciate excellence,” ESPN golf host Scott Van Pelt said. “We’re always looking for that next person that we can say reminds us of this person. [But] no one’s going to remind us of Tiger [Woods].”

If Scheffler wins the PGA Championship, he would be the first golfer since Spieth in 2015 to win the first two majors of the year. That would put him halfway toward the calendar grand slam—something even Woods never accomplished.

Tiger Woods Is Still Pro Golf’s Top Dog … Off the Course [[link removed]]

USA TODAY

While Scottie Scheffler looks to match the dominance of Tiger Woods on the course, the 15-time major champion is still the key to generating business for stakeholders away from the links.

Woods will be helping lead [[link removed]] negotiations with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia about becoming another minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises. The Strategic Sports Group has already invested $1.5 billion in the newly formed for-profit entity.

Meanwhile, his mere presence at the PGA Championship should be good news for ESPN, which has coverage of the first two rounds. As Woods successfully battled to make the cut at the Masters, ESPN averaged 3.4 million viewers during rounds one and two, the network’s biggest two-day viewership since 2018.

Fresh New Look

After ending [[link removed]] his 27-year relationship with Nike, Woods this season has been wearing apparel from his new brand, Sun Day Red, which released its first collection this month. Sun Day Red will be available to purchase only on its website this year, before also heading to wholesale retailers in 2025, when junior and women’s gear will begin to be offered in addition to the men’s lines.

Sun Day Red executives won’t rule out the idea of sponsoring other professional golfers in the future, or even exploring a return of the iconic TW logo Woods made famous by Nike. “That will be his decision,” Brad Blankinship, president of Sun Day Red, tells Front Office Sports. Sun Day Red’s primary logo is a brush-drawn tiger. “For now, he’s put out there that that’s in his past and he’s ready to move forward. So, I would say time will tell and it will be Tiger’s decision.”

Solid Footwork

At Valhalla, Woods will be dressed head-to-toe in Sun Day Red. That last part is crucial for the golfer who has at times struggled to even walk the course since his 2021 car accident that severely damaged his right ankle. Woods had stopped wearing Nike golf shoes and switched to a FootJoy model. “The good news is we’ve got Tiger in our shoes, and they’re working well for him,” Blankinship says. “That’s moving pretty fast—a little ahead of where we would have thought we’d be at this time.”

Sun Day Red footwear won’t be sold to the public until 2025, but Woods is staying intensely involved with every aspect of its testing. “He has a point of view and decades of knowledge that are really insightful and unique,” Blankinship says. “So, particularly on the footwear, he’s had a hand in every part of it—how many spikes, what we’re doing for the laces, the leather we use.”

Ball Is Life

Almost all of the clubs Woods used are made by TaylorMade, the parent company of Sun Day Red, but he plays a Bridgestone ball, the Tour B X model. To no one’s surprise, Bridgestone has a special Tiger Woods edition of that ball, which sees an uptick of sales in during weeks when Woods plays professionally, as well as increased web and social media traffic.

But Bridgestone, which has been working with Woods since 2017, relies on Woods for more than just sales. “The fun thing about Tiger is he can provide feedback beyond what we’re able to capture with the launch monitors,” Elliot Mellow, Bridgestone’s golf ball marketing manager, tells FOS. The expertise Woods has makes him more valuable than other professional golfers when it comes to testing. “He can hit something and say, ‘That doesn’t work for me, it’s launching too high. However, I could see that ball working for this type of player.’ And so on, and so forth. So, Tiger’s feedback really impacts the entire line of the Bridgestone offering.”

SPONSORED BY PGA OF AMERICA

We Love Playing the Game

The PGA of America [[link removed]] is an association of more than 30,000 trained golf professionals dedicated to elevating and advancing the game for the enjoyment of everyone.

For more than 100 years, it has helped create, develop, and bolster golf’s presence in the United States and around the world, furthering the love of the game for all.

Each year, a team of the PGA of America Golf Professionals from across the country earns a position to compete on one of golf’s grandest stages, the PGA Championship.

This group showcases the passion and skill of PGA of America Golf Professionals who compete at the highest level while maintaining their day job—serving in a number of capacities to power the business of golf.

Learn more [[link removed]].

ONE BIG FIG Back Together Again

Edgar Su/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports

7

Number of LIV Golf players who did not qualify for the PGA Championship but accepted special invites from the PGA of America. They are Dean Burmester, Talor Gooch, Lucas Herbert, Adrian Meronk, Joaquin Niemann (above), David Puig, and Patrick Reed. Nine other LIV members made the field at Valhalla Golf Club through world ranking points, recent major championship victories, or previous wins at the PGA Championship. That brings LIV’s total number of players this week to 16 out of the 156-person field. LIV had 13 players at the Masters last month. So far, nine LIV players are exempt into next month’s U.S. Open, with another 35 attempting [[link removed]] to earn a spot through the USGA’s open qualifying system.

TIME CAPSULE Valhalla Through the Years

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

This week’s PGA Championship will be the fourth one played at Valhalla Golf Club, a place that has quite a bit of history for being relatively young compared to other golf courses around the world.

1986: The Jack Nicklaus–designed course opens in Louisville. 1993: The PGA of America acquires a minority ownership stake in the club. 1996: Valhalla hosts its first PGA Championship and the PGA of America, which organizes the tournament, and assumes majority control of the club. 2000: Tiger Woods wins his fifth major championship—and the third leg of the eventual Tiger Slam [[link removed]]—in a dramatic playoff [[link removed]] at Valhalla. 2008: Valhalla hosts the Ryder Cup (above), which Team USA wins. 2014: Rory McIlroy wins his fourth major championship, narrowly beating darkness [[link removed]] on a somewhat controversial [[link removed]] Sunday evening. Notably McIlroy hasn’t won a major since. 2022: The PGA of America sells Valhalla to a group of club members for a reported price [[link removed]] of $23.5 million.

Who will make history this week?

SPONSORED BY PGA OF AMERICA

We Love Leading the Game

The PGA of America [[link removed]] is an association of more than 30,000 trained golf professionals dedicated to elevating and advancing the game for the enjoyment of everyone.

For more than 100 years, it has helped create, develop, and bolster golf’s presence in the United States and around the world, furthering the love of the game for all.

From club owners and managers to coaches and merchandisers, PGA of America Golf Professionals work at more than 10,000 facilities worldwide. They’re the essential fabric of the Association, the heartbeat of the $105B Golf Industry [[link removed]], and a golfer’s guide to the game.

Learn more [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters The next men’s golf major after the PGA Championship will be the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where the USGA just opened a new headquarters, and a revamped World Golf Hall of Fame. Take a look [[link removed]]. On Sunday, two-time PGA Championship winner Rory McIlroy won the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship—and the $3.6 million first-place prize. See who else [[link removed]] won big in professional golf over the weekend. The PGA Championship will get plenty of broadcast coverage across CBS and ESPN. But women’s golf is still finding its footing in the media landscape. Check out [[link removed]] what the LPGA is trying to do next. Editors’ Picks Everything You Need to Know About the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and a Potential Merger [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]The two tours remain far apart despite previous efforts to come together. While Nelly Korda Chases History, LPGA Tries to Close a Coverage Gap [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]LPGA fans have two featured group streaming options this week. NBC Turns to ‘Odd/Even’ Dual Announcer Pairings for U.S. Open [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]Two NBC broadcast teams will alternate holes at the 2024 U.S. Open. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Sports Careers [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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