Hey, how about that new trophy from the new sponsor! The Sentry Tournament of Champions wheeled out a candidate for best non-major trophy and a runaway winner in Dustin Johnson.
Everything else was, I'm sad to say, pretty boring.
With the PGA Championship move to May 2019 in coordination with the PGA Tour, we know everything should be under review from the calendar to formats to the FedExCup.
An essential starting place for setting a new tone should commence in emergency fashion with the moribund Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Because this is the sensitive world of golf where the slightest critique brings an outpouring of defensive responses, hate mail and Twitter trolls, let me get the apologies out of the way. I apologize in advance to, among others, Kapalua resort, Maui, the Governor, the people of Hawaii, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, new sponsor Sentry, longtime ambassador Mark Rolfing, the Golf Channel, the 2018 field, Rickie's Hawaiian shirt, anyone who has ever played a tournament of champions, and most of all, the humpback whales.
No offense, but the 2018 Sentry TOC was drool-on-the-pillow, dull. The kind of power-nap material you wake up from and feel like you've been sleeping for days. I can attest from actual 2018 experience the first three rounds. And this is coming from someone who enjoys the course, the setting and the concept of starting the season with an all-winners field.
Outside of it's place as a calendar year starter with the previous year's tournament winners, the Tournament of Champions needs more than an infusion of tweaks. The event needs an entire re-imagining. A Keith Pelley-like intervention, minus the pyrotechnics.
Some thoughts:
—Format. As match play is normalized and more revered by fans and network execs, the longtime calls to move this to a match play format look more prescient than ever. The small field size is crying out for some sort of match format leading to a championship matches by finalists. Smart executives can figure out how to deal with a different field size each year, but an obvious remedy would be to exempt players from round one who win multiple events from a round or two. Or maybe pool play where those with more wins than one receive benefits. Hey, how about pool play divided by West Coast, Fall, Playoff, and other seasonal winners? Anything but 72-holes of stroke play where limited fields are more likely to give us runaway winners!
—Course. Kapalua’s Plantation course has gradually lost its bite. Whether a change in wind patterns, the softer turf, negative effects of various renovations, modern distances or our excess familiarity, the course no longer seems to induce the shotmaking and as many crazy ball-rolls that made it so much fun to see shot-shaping. I don't know the answer here.
—Playing window. The Monday finishes designed to avoid NFL Playoffs were tried and fizzled when contested up until just minutes before the Monday national title game in college football. (Or when they spilled into the game if there was a playoff.) Hawaii golf in January, on cable television, means prime time viewing flexibility that should allow for the PGA Tour to consider the calendar and adjust. This year would have been an interesting one to from Tuesday to Friday. Some years might force a Saturday start and Tuesday finish. Take advantage of prime time golf and more flexible sports viewers. Ponte Vedra, here is the future schedule of CFP playoff games.
—Broadcast. Many things have been tried over the years, from more profound first tee announcements (complete with videoboard intros) and extended interviews. Given the small field, the TOC seems ideal for more review of last year's winners or more previewing the upcoming season. Some experimental elements should be doable given the field size, particularly if it moves to match play. Understandably, the Hawaii location precludes some technical elements, but maybe strong second-set experience that reviewed the great moments of 2017 or included pundits analyzing things to look for in 2018 would liven things up. Shoot, why not use the opening week to do deeper dives into player bags when players are either using new stuff, or endorsing new brands?
Ultimately the event may forever lack energy and excitement because of the relaxed Hawaii vibe or the never-ending season or the wealth of strong events. But given the field quality in 2018 and the current opportunity for schedule re-imagination, the PGA Tour's “opening day” event desperately needs a bold intervention.
Monday, January 8, 2018 at 02:01 AM
