Larry Bohannan talks to Phil Mickelson in advance of his new role as "ambassador" to the Careerbuilder Challenge, formerly known as, well, The Hope.
Mickelson says it's a three-year plan to build the tournament into a more stable and significant event.
"The idea is to create an identity. Our identity is a chance for players to build a foundation for the rest of the year. We want to get a few top players in the field as the year starts.”
As the desert tournament evolved in the 1960s and 1970s, it always had top-name pros from Arnold Palmer to Jack Nicklaus to Gary Player to Johnny Miller to Mickelson himself. Getting at least a few names like that back in the field could help push the CareerBuilder to bigger heights, Mickelson said, and maybe even bring back a little of what the tournament was decades ago.
“If we get a few top players, get some top amateurs and in the future some top celebrities out to the tournament, the tournament will be something fans want to come to,” he said.
It's interesting to see that Mickelson has singled out "top celebrities" given that Commissioner Finchem shifted the event away from celebs just as he did with the Wednesday pro-am here in Los Angeles. Whether Moonbeam was focused on squeezing more revenue out of paying customers over spectator draws, or just a general fan of watching briefcases play golf instead of celebs, I don't know.
Either way, tip of the cap to whoever secured Fitz and The Tantrums for the first Careerbuilder Challenge concert. Can't wait to see the fans free let go of their walkers to dance to The Walker!