The Round Table: Hello Brian, goodbye Jay

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.

On Sunday, American Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley outdueled Tommy Fleetwood over the last few holes to claim the Travelers Championship. While he said he’d never pick himself to play, his current point total makes him almost a virtual lock to be on his own Ryder Cup team. In your opinion, should Bradley try to be a playing captain and rely on his assistants for more help than usual, or should he simply make the decision that he’s the captain and nothing more?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I’m not against seeing a playing captain on either side, as long as I believe that the person is a genuine sportsman and not putting himself on a pedestal.  But Keegan Bradley’s past behaviour (constant spitting), his intense and humourless attitude, and especially after his behaviour on Sunday — acting like he’d just won the Olympic pole vault championship after Fleetwood faltered, and THEN not having the decency to immediately go over and shake Fleetwood’s hand and offer some degree of condolence — just made me completely dislike the guy, and hope that he doesn’t declare himself to be the first playing captain in the Ryder Cup in over 60 years.  The last one, Arnold Palmer, was a sportsman. Keegan Bradley is not.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): Tough one here. If he’s earned his way on the team, he has to play. But if he’s last on that list and doesn’t pick Koepka in place of himself, that’s a problem considering how good Koepka is and how good he’s played at Bethpage Black. I’m sure if he asked Tiger to help coach he would, and that may free up more of his time to play if he’s on the team. It’s going to be fun watching this play out.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: The days of being the “playing captain” are over. The concentration as a player is intense. The time, responsibility, and focus as the captain are equally fierce. One person cannot physically, mentally, or emotionally do both jobs and do them justice. Keegan made his choice when he accepted the captaincy.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: As a fan of the Euros, hope he plays. As a fan of the Ryder Cup, hope he doesn’t. He’s going to get enough camera time as captain without subjecting the global TV audience to days of his pre-shot routine. The Americans always give the captain too much credit or blame; he should concentrate on avoiding the blame game. Anyway, being named captain should be enough to salve any ego, especially at his age.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine: As long as Bradley stays among the Top 12 U.S. players, I’m ok with him as a playing captain. What’s all the fuss? As a player, there’s nothing extra he has to worry about until he gets to Bethpage. As a captain, by the time the first tee shot is hit, isn’t all the work pretty much done? All that’s left is filling out the daily pairings sheets and maybe giving a motivational speech or two. Even someone wound as tight as Bradley should be able to handle that.

Last week, the PGA Tour announced the appointment of Brian Rolapp as the new CEO of both the Tour and PGA Tour Enterprises. Rolapp has over 20 years experience as the NFL’s chief media and business exec and gets plenty of credit for building the NFL into the #1 sports entity in the world. From a long list of things that need fixing at the PGA Tour, what should Rolapp prioritize first?

Deeks: I’m sure 90% of the American golf-watching public would disagree with me, and call me an old fogey (correct), but one of the reasons I watch about a quarter of the golf I used to is because I cannot stand the 10-decibel screaming that occurs within a nanosecond of a ball being struck by a club.  “IN THE HOLE!!!” is so loud, so stupid, so annoying, so counter to the culture of the game, and so obnoxiously American that it’s almost a microcosm of what the rest of the world dislikes about the USA.  If Rolapp could somehow get the fans to pipe down and show some respect, that would go a long way to winning back a lot of disgruntled supporters.

Loughry: He has to address coverage (spice it up, new camera angles, fresh takes and hopefully pace of play), and then he has to address the LIV issue (talent pool).

Schurman: Build the PGA Tour into the #1 tour in the world. Settle the L1V problem! Continue working with other tours, including the LPGA, to ensure the best opportunities for all elite players and guarantee the strongest fields for event sponsors. Expose countries around the world to the game by making the PGA TOUR a true world tour. Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen did more to grow the game by travelling the world and playing exhibitions in the 1920s.

Quinn: He’s said a few of the right things off the top, including making the fans the priority. After all, it is the fans who make the Tour. Winning back the disenchanted core and somehow attracting the next generation will be job one. And that will be a very tough one.

Mumford: Rolapp was hired because of what he did for the NFL. Some members of the Strategic Sports Group are from the NFL. They recognize their best ROI on their PGA Tour investment is duplicating the NFL model. That means a Tour built for American audiences, played largely in the United States with all the best players. Forget international expansion. The players don’t want it. Heck, most of them don’t even play in Canada and Mexico and those destinations are so close, they might as well be home games (Donald Trump’s blather notwithstanding). So, in order to have all the best players, his first priority should be resolving the LIV thing. Invite Yasir to invest along with the Strategic Sports Group. Give him a seat on the Board, give him a TGL franchise, make him one of the boys. The primary condition is that LIV Golf ceases to exist. No team golf. Invite the best LIV players to come back, no strings attached. Some people and some PGA Tour players won’t like it. Too bad. The rest of the LIV players can try to qualify or play elsewhere. With all the best players inside the tent, the Tour can use its money and muscle to add a few signature events where LIV had great success, Asia and Australia for example. Some of the players won’t like it. Too bad. The Tour is a business, not kid’s camp.

Current PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will stick around for 6-18 months to help Rolapp with the transition and then will be gone. How would you rate Monahan’s legacy as Commissioner over the past eight years?

Deeks: Monahan had a tough role, in my view.  First of all, succeeding Deane Beman and Tim Finchem, who were both masterful in their jobs, then dealing with the decline of the Tiger Woods era, the challenge of the LIV defections and peace negotiations that have gone nowhere, and myriad other issues, all kept Jay from achieving his predecessors’ status… even though he appears to have come out of it all as a very wealthy man.  Somehow.  I’d give his tenure 5/10.  I don’t think he’ll be missed.

Loughry: Jay was handed a pretty solid product, and will no doubt be harshly judged for just kind of steering the ship as status quo. He had to navigate some pretty tough situations. I’m sure he’ll say he’s proud of the eight years, but I don’t think he’s leaving the Tour in a better place than when he started. The only thing I’ll agree on is that the players are making more money now then when he started, if that’s how he’s judged, then he gets a passing grade. Is there long-term stability and sustainability, probably, are we watching a watered-down product? Do they have more fans? Are the fans happier, more enriched, more engaged? Is the coverage better? Are the partners happier (they seemed to lose more than a few vs net new partnerships)? The LIV issue, and players leaving vs staying or coming back…. let’s be honest, any professional sport/league is best served when they have the absolute best players and those players going head-to-head regularly. The PGA Tour doesn’t have all the best players, nor does LIV. I’d rate Jay’s tenure low, while admitting some of it wasn’t necessarily his fault, but just bad timing and the cards he was dealt.

Schurman: The sooner he goes, the better. He caused the dissatisfaction on the PGA TOUR that allowed LIV to open the door. He suddenly discovered millions in sponsorship money to compete with LIV, which eliminated many long-term sponsors that had been brought on by his sell-out to the Saudi Investment Fund. His communication skills are pathetic, as are his Press Conferences. Under his reign, the TOUR lost several historical events. Under his reign, the price of tickets to events has become unaffordable. Under his reign, the number of TV commercials has increased, while that of other sports has decreased. His creativity is outdone by the TOUR’s terrible use of YouTube, which is almost non-existent. The players recognize he is disingenuous. How can he possibly lead a group who don’t trust him?

Quinn: He seemed to be doing all the right things until blindsided by the Shark and the Saudis. The Tour was solid, good TV deals, there was a massive reserve fund that no one — particularly the players —knew about. Life according to Monahan was good until it suddenly wasn’t. The LIV crisis clearly demonstrated that he was out of his depth and the painful aftermath — including a realignment of the Tour’s power structure — will define his legacy.

Mumford: Monahan gets high marks for steering the Tour through COVID. Then he totally dropped the ball when it came to LIV Golf and the subsequent steps he took as he tried to fight it. His hypocritical about-face two years ago at the RBC Canadian Open when he announced the Framework Agreement and left Rory McIlroy out on the ledge may be the low point. Ultimately, Monahan’s legacy will be that he tried too hard to satisfy the top players and lost sight of the Tour as a whole. That negatively impacted players, sponsors and fans, and in my opinion earns him a failing grade as Commissioner.