Steve Stricker could walk into my living room right now and my reaction would probably be to hit him with the closest blunt object and call 911 to report a break-in. How is it possible that this guy is the #2 golfer on the money list right now and I don’t know who he is? As far as I’m concerned it’s one of the very quiet, and one of the few negative points of the “Tiger Woods effect.”
Don’t get me wrong. Tiger Woods has been great for golf (PGA golfers especially). His presence has brought much more attention to the game, a whole new audience and a much louder buzz over the past twelve years. Not to mention the increase in prize money for which these guys are playing. Ninety-one players have earned over one million dollars this year, and 144 have earned over a half-million. In large part, they owe this to Tiger.
Take a look at the money leaders in 1996, the last year before Tiger hit the scene – only nine players broke the million dollar mark. Tom Lehman’s total of $1.78 million (#1 that year) would currently be ranked 47th. And the number of million-dollar earners has increased almost every year since then, to a high of 104 in 2008! So why don’t I know who most of these guys are?
While the above mentioned numbers may be great for a guy like Kevin Streelman (he missed the cut in 10 of the 29 tournaments he entered and finished in the top-10 only twice, but still managed to clear the million-dollar threshold) it may not be good for the tour as a whole. How could that be? Well, the biggest draw (and the reason these numbers are as inflated as they are) has decided to take an indefinite leave of absence from the game.
Now what? Outside of the hardcore golf fans, most people have no idea who Nick Watney is. But he’s 12th on the money list with $3.2 million, one win and four top-10’s. But the PGA has done such a crappy job of promoting anyone but Tiger and Phil for the past few years that no one can put a name with a face…that is if they even know the name.
The PGA decided to put all of their eggs in one basket. Now that basket is sitting out for an indefinite period. So what’s going to happen to those huge galleries? What toll will this take on tournament attendance? Where will all the prize money come from if sponsors pull out? What will be the effect on the general interest of the game? While the PGA should have been promoting the other great players on tour to rest of the sports world, they just weren’t. And now, no one knows who these other players are.This is a similar situation to what happened to heavyweight boxing after the decline of Mike Tyson. We really only knew two or three other heavyweights and once they fell off of the radar, many fans lost interest. Obviously, there were more factors involved with boxing (foreign fighters, pay-per-view, Don King), but you get the idea. So who is going to be the PGA’s Evander Holyfield? Is it Phil? Is it Stricker? Or is it going to be someone else we don’t yet know? The problem is, they need more than that. They need many Evander Holyfields’.
Whether or not Tiger comes back sooner rather than later, the PGA needs to do a better job in the promotions department. If I can see commercials on TV featuring any number of NFL players and MY WIFE can name them…the NFL has clearly got it figured out. Now I know the NFL is the most watched sport in the U.S., but I can say the same thing about the NBA and MLB. All three leagues do a great job promoting their players. The NFL doesn’t have all Tom Brady all the time. The NBA doesn’t promote only the games in which Kobe or LeBron are playing. And MLB doesn’t flash Derek Jeter’s picture every time they have the opportunity.The PGA needs to follow suit. It’s bad enough that golf has that snobbish, sport for the rich, stereotype to it. They need to change that image and they need to make their players more recognizable to the average fan. They need to promote the great players who play this great sport. What if Tiger decides he has enough money, he’s played enough golf and he doesn’t need to deal with the headaches any longer? What if he walks away entirely? What then?
And while I’m on the subject; it’s not just the PGA itself. It’s also the sports highlight shows. I know he’s the best, but is anyone else sick of seeing three to four minutes of only Tiger, and at the end of the highlight we see one putt by the guy who actually WON the tournament? No wonder nobody knows these guys? They’re so busy worried about why Tiger lost that they end up paying minimal attention to the guy who won!
Me personally? I don’t care much whether Tiger plays or not. I rarely watch golf on TV and I have only attended two PGA tournaments. I have no vested interest in closely following the tour. What I enjoy is the game itself – heading to the course with my buddies and spending a few hours playing a game we love.
That being said, I might someday follow the tour more closely if the PGA gave me a reason. I’d like to start with knowing who these players are. Maybe if I knew who I was cheering for or why. Give me some background. Create some rivalries other than Tiger vs. Phil or Tiger vs. the flash in the pan or Tiger vs. someone who has never really given Tiger a challenge. Put someone else in a TV commercial or promo. As a matter of fact…put the damn commercials somewhere other than the Golf Channel! Think about it, how often do you see a commercial for a golf product on prime-time TV? There are 50 million golfers in this country! I guarantee some of us are watching prime-time TV!
Until this happens, all I know is Steve Stricker better make sure he has the right house.