The only guy that Tiger and Phil may be scared of over the next couple of weeks is New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady, and who can blame them. This time of year the name of the game is TV ratings and I suspect that the PGA and the FedEx Cup are about to get a dose of reality. Welcome to the NFL, where “These Guys Are Good” as well as big and fast and the owners of Fall TV ratings.
It’s not Tom Brady’s fault. He was willing to accept golf in its traditional role of second-level tournaments and made-for-TV events from now through Thanksgiving, but golf would have none of that, and now it may have to pay the price. Perhaps finishing second in the ratings is acceptable for golf, but even that goal requires beating NASCAR, and one should never underestimate the drawing power of the redneck nation.
Listening to Phil Mickelson after his win on Sunday probably didn’t give the Commissioner much comfort because he never said that he would play round three, and sure enough he has pulled out. I don’t doubt for a minute that there will be terrific galleries in Chicago (even without Phil) and Atlanta over the next couple of weeks, but FedEx is counting on more than just big galleries. Television potentially reaches more people in 30-seconds that all those galleries combined, but who’s counting? And, why should we care if our beloved game finishes second or even third in the TV ratings during their inaugural big-deal playoff event, as long as we get to watch golf? Isn’t this predicament exactly why TiVo was invented?
But what really happens if golf gets its butt kicked over the next two weeks? Perhaps the TV executives are forgiving, or perhaps the big-time advertising dudes run for cover, and not just from the FedEx Cup but from golf in general. The horror story that we all hope to avoid is the one where the corporate sponsors stop answering their phones when your favorite tournament calls. Then there is that small story right under golf’s bad TV rating story that innocently mentions that Tiger, Phil and the other big boys still think the season is too long, which is French for don’t count on me returning next year.
I am a pessimist, but for good reason. I simply don’t want golf to go the way of Tennis and become almost a second-tier sport, which is always a danger for country club sports. Check out the stats; golf, in terms of participation, is not growing; yet the prize money and the ticket prices are higher than ever. Who do they think they are, baseball?
Tiger is the biggest thing to happen in golf for many years. People who couldn’t pick Phil Mickelson out of a two-man lineup are watching Tiger Woods and only Tiger Woods play golf on TV. Chinese kids know who Tiger is. Look at the ratings. When Tiger’s not playing golf ratings drop like the XFL play-offs.
So, what’s going on? It seems like the Commissioner is asking Tiger, Phil and the boys to take on Tom Brady and the NFL head-on, and neither Tiger, Phil, nor any of the other boys are sure they want that responsibility. Would you?
It might help if they made the FedEx Cup a winner take all tournament, or perhaps a WFL cage match. Maybe Tiger and Phil will stage a legendary battle and each day the stakes will get higher. On Sunday with the Dallas Cowboys staring them down, Tiger will bet Phil his 250-foot yacht and Phil will promise to give back Butch Harmon and sign up for Jenny Craig if he loses.
How about we play the final round on an episode of Dancing With The Stars? Hell, Tiger has got to be a better dancer than Jerry Rice.
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