The Round Table: Akshay Bhatia is ready for prime time

Each week we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

The Rocket Mortgage Classic featured a thrilling down-to-the-last-putt finish that had half a dozen players in contention including rookies and amateurs. For avid golf fans, it was great entertainment despite a lack of elite PGA Tour players. Has the Tour, the media and all the rest of the decision makers lost sight of the fact that this is the real backbone of professional golf – a full field tournament with a cut, where winning the title is more important than pocketing more millions? 

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): Like the political situation in the United States, it seems everything that used to work well is being overthrown for reasons of expediency, if not insanity.  Pro (male) golfers are making obscene amounts of money, with fewer challenges to earn their living.  Is this good for golf?  I dunno, but I do know that just about every golf fan that I talk to is either disgusted, shocked, bored or confused… and all are inclined to tune out of the Tour’s weekly offerings, and only pay attention to the majors (which are not controlled by the Tour.) Somebody needs to wake up at some point and realize that the cookie is slowly crumbling.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): I don’t like no-cut events (neither does Jack).  I did follow the tournament, but I sure didn’t park time to watch it all week. It was more like if I had spare time, I’d turn it on. That was mostly due to the fact there was only one top-20 player in the field (Tom Kim). I like full fields with great players showing their talent. This event had some good players playing some good golf (a big difference in the entertainment).

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: The TOUR has confused the average fan with such a variety of important venues. The announcers don’t help either. Every putt is “This is very important. He’s never won a major. He needs this to win $10M. If this goes in, he can make the Ryder Cup team.” The importance is endless. Then along comes LIV and players have been paid enormous amounts ‘upfront’ so prize money has taken a different level of importance. We see that with Bryson DeChambeau who now plays for Glory. A good test of relevance is to compare the annual winnings of a top PGA TOUR player to the average person’s income. Today it is almost 100 times. In the Norman Rockwell romantic days, it was 5 or 6 times. The backbone of golf is lost somewhere around the mini-tour level. Even college golf has conduits to the PGA TOUR. So much for sleeping in your car so you can afford an entry fee.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): I have to admit I love watching guys chase the dream, and win a tournament to change their lives, it does make a Sunday finish exciting.  The only issue is it’s only the Sunday finish that I really care about, there’s not much drawing me to the TV on Friday afternoon of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. That being said, these tournaments are so exciting and necessary to develop the next generation of stars. Otherwise only guys with talent and opportunities like Ludvig Aberg would have a chance to get into the signature events.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): You can’t have an “all-star” game every week. There has to be a core group of games in a season to give meaning to the playoffs or the majors, and it is incumbent on the Tour to develop and nurture that core, not just focus on the elite competitions. Seems to me that the PGA Tour has forgotten what built their legacy as they chase all this new money.

Akshay Bhatia almost won the Rocket Mortgage Classic but a three-putt on the 72nd hole derailed his chance to join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Tom Kim as the only players with three PGA Tour wins before they turn 23. Bhatia has some stiff competition in the “most promising young dude” category including Ludvig Aberg, Tom Kim and Nick Dunlap. Does Akshay belong in that conversation and what do you like about his game that inspires a bright future?

Deeks: I honestly can’t comment on Bhatia’s game because I really haven’t been watching regular Tour events.  (Too busy working on my own game on Sundays).  But, good for him and Tom Kim.  But I remind myself that they have not achieved their early success by playing against full fields of the best players in the world.  LIV Golf has prevented that from happening, unfortunately.

Loughry: This may not be a popular take, but this is an era with the weakest fields. I wouldn’t exactly compare Tom Kim or others in the same breath as Woods, Rory or Spieth. What I like about Bhatia’s game is that he hits creative shots, he works the ball both ways, and he’s a pretty aggressive player. His putter is improving (his weakest skill) and it’s showing in his high finishes the last few months. He’s definitely a young gun to watch, he’ll be a top-20 player for quite some time if he stays healthy.

Schurman: Akshay is every bit part of the group. That skinny little guy has plenty of power, his distance control is outstanding, and he has a great short game. He missed an untimely putt. So, what. It was his first three-putt of the week. As he gets in position more often, his confidence will rise. He is the real deal.

Rule: His game doesn’t wow you like an Aberg or Tom Kim but he’s proving that he can get it done when it counts, despite the unfortunate three-putt last weekend.  He’s just so steady and doesn’t make many mistakes, that being his only three-putt and just one of two bogeys all week.  It will be interesting to see how he responds to this disappointment.  He is an old 22, having turned pro at 17, so he’s had more time to gain experience and work his way to the PGA Tour than most at his age.

Mumford: As TJ notes, Akshay has been around longer than most 22-year-olds. During that time, he’s had to figure it out on his own, and he’s obviously learned enough to hang with the best on a Sunday afternoon. No doubt in my mind that he belongs with Aberg and Kim and a handful of other bright lights that will dominate leaderboards for the next 15-20 years. Plus his slightly quirky laid back surfer dude cool demeanour is delightful.

Over the past six months we’ve seen the TV networks introduce new on-air personalities to their broadcasts, try new segments such as Walk and Talk or Happy Hour with Smylie Kaufman, and generally attempt to improve the viewing experience. In your opinion are the broadcasts getting better or not, and which improvements or on-air personalities do you think are succeeding?

Deeks: Something had to happen, because network broadcasts in the post-Tiger era have become pretty sleepy. Walk and Talk is okay, if not really new, but I can certainly do without Happy Hour. Smiley’s interview with DeChambeau at the US Open was cringe-worthy sycophantic, in my opinion.  I’ve said for years that the networks could and should do much more in the way of giving us back stories and background profiles of players in contention in each tournament: it’s interesting content, informative, entertaining, and a break from the monotony of watching putts. But the networks don ’t do this because these vignettes take time and research to produce, and that costs money. And God forbid they’d ever spend money they didn’t have to.

Loughry: Give me Johnson Wagner all day long. His segments are fresh, informative, interesting and entertaining. He also isn’t afraid to make fun of himself and has some good insights. There is no way the producers will stop these segments, they’re just too good.

Schurman: We are coming off about 40 or 50 years of one broadcasting style which was beyond its best before date and then Tiger arrived. When it ended there was a huge rush to redesign the delivery because nobody thought his career would ever end. He even provided an extension with his personal life stories. What happened during the Tiger Era was the discovery of golf in many foreign nations resulting in a wide representation from around the world. The American market which truly believes they are the best in the world is finding others are presenting a challenge. The LPGA faced this situation about 15 years ago with the appearance of quality players from Korea. A huge cry went up about the lack of English-speaking champions and Barbie-doll appearances. They adapted and survived. In fact, the LPGA is much stronger and a better product than it has ever been. The PGA TOUR is in a quagmire of turmoil with the wrong management, but they will figure it out at some point.

Rule: I’m not sure I watch enough golf on TV to have much of an opinion on this one.  I do like the graphics that are improving the viewing experience more and more each year, I can’t believe we used to watch golf without a shot tracer!  In terms of personalities, there aren’t any that draw me to a broadcast, I only watch golf to watch the golf to be honest.  I still prefer the DP World Tour broadcasts, where they mostly show golf, no frills.

Mumford: Ever since Augusta National kicked Gary McCord off their Masters broadcast, it seems the networks have been afraid to add much humour or irreverence to their shows. Even David Feherty got muzzled. Netflix showed that there’s real interest in peeking behind the curtain with players and getting up close and personal, regardless of how uncomfortable that may be. Golf telecasts are supposed to be sports entertainment, not solemn coverage of a state funeral. More humour and more getting to know the players would help. Colt Knost, Smylie Kaufman and Johnson Wagner are a step in the right direction.