ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GEORGIA | As wind-down weeks go, it would be hard to find a better spot than Sea Island where the PGA Tour quietly put a bow on its 2021 official tournament schedule last week at the RSM Classic amid the moss-draped elegance at Sea Island.
The weather was borderline perfect, until a pesky northwest breeze blew in. It threw a light chop into the shimmering waters of St. Simons Sound, where a two-year recovery project continues just offshore on a capsized barge that dumped 4,000 new cars into the salt water, necessitating the biggest wreck removal in United States history while cluttering the enchanting view.
The RSM Classic provides a soft landing (a natural analogy given the steady stream of private jets skimming just above the Sea Island clubhouse on final approach to the nearby airport) to a long, winding year. It allows a home game for a sizable portion of the PGA Tour’s membership, which followed tournament host Davis Love III’s lead and set up shop here where the island life feels uncrowded and uncluttered.
There is a good case to be made that the PGA Tour schedule has too many tournaments, never breaking long enough to allow golf fans to truly miss the action. But an event like the RSM Classic offers a counterpoint, enriching a community while offering stars like Adam Scott and Webb Simpson a chance to pad their FedEx Cup standing while the Vince Whaleys and Chad Rameys can try to take another step up the career mountain.
“It’s a great place to be,” said Scott, who knows a thing or two about great places.
In two weeks, 15 of the top 20 players in the world rankings will tee it up at the Hero World Challenge, an unofficial event with an off-the-boil vibe, and the biggest question there is whether host Tiger Woods will make his first public appearance since his life-threatening auto accident in February. Woods will be news just by showing up.
The RSM Classic feels like the last song before intermission.
By the time the PGA Tour officially reconvenes in Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions in six weeks, it’s possible the professional golf landscape will have changed.
There are indications the Greg Norman-led LIV Golf Investments group is close to announcing plans for its new league with a goal of beginning play sometime next spring. It was a subject of discussion last week around the practice areas where no one claimed to know the specifics – whether from Norman’s group or how the PGA Tour continues to counterpunch – but the topic continues to percolate.
Who, if anyone, will sign with the Saudi-backed group?
How does the tour respond if players sign with a rival league?
Is it all about money?
What if all of this blows over?
“There’s obviously a lot going on with different leagues coming into play, but this is my 14th season I think on tour and I feel like what we’re given the opportunity to do every week is better than it’s ever been,” Simpson said. “There’ve been quite a few changes in schedule and purses and different tournaments and new tournaments that I’ve heard about and have seen for next year. I’m excited with where the tour’s going.”
The tour has declined to offer specifics but it’s not sitting still, waiting to be poached. Commissioner Jay Monahan has had dinners recently with small groups of players, talking about what they might want and what the future of the tour looks like.
“It was good,” one player said.
There were brush fires of discussion last week. Half a world away, Rory McIlroy said his stance in support of the PGA Tour has been “hardened” by things he’s seen and heard recently.
An agent for one of the top young players in the world said his client has no interest in leaving the PGA Tour. An equipment representative said contracts would be voided if a player opts to join one of the new leagues.
Does the PGA Tour have legal standing to suspend or ban players if they sign on with the Norman group?
Depends on which side you ask.
Newcomers are likely to argue that the PGA Tour is a monopoly and antitrust rules apply. The tour will counter by saying it is a membership-based organization and joining a rival group means losing your membership. It’d be like a Coca-Cola executive going to work for Pepsi but wanting to continue with Coca-Cola, too.
(PGA Tour) commissioner Jay Monahan has had dinners recently with small groups of players, talking about what they might want and what the future of the tour looks like.
“I think no matter what it is, things over time need to be refined,” Scott said. “They can’t stay the same. Other things are changing, so you have to adapt a little bit. That’s true for golf as well.
“Just looking at the FedEx Cup, we’ve adapted that several times over the 15 years it’s been going. So you always have to be aware of what’s going on and make some changes. I think with all this discussion, something good will come of it for the game of golf.”
There is plenty of money to go around. Through this process, the tour has shown players where its money comes from and where it goes. The players get approximately 55 percent of cumulative revenue and tour revenue is on the rise.
Purses are going up significantly with the new media rights deal. It’s conceivable the FedEx Cup champion will win more than $50 million by the end of the decade.
At Sea Island last week, the palm trees rustled in the salt-scented breeze and the holiday season closed in like a sunset.
It’s time for a break and a promise.
To be continued.
Top: When everything settles, Adam Scott believes "something good will come of it for the game of golf."
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