The Round Table: what to do about the turtles, PIP money and TV golf

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.

Rory McIlroy, who has been the most outspoken proponent of the PGA Tour’s new elevated event format, skipped the RBC Heritage, making it the second elevated event he has skipped this year. As a result, he stands to lose $3 million in PIP money. Apart from the financial setback, what do you make of McIlroy’s actions?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): I’m guessing Rory is just tired from a lot of pressure on and off the golf course, brought to a head by the Masters debacle.  In fact, the original Masters debacle of a decade or so ago seems to really be in his head now.  Anyway, I feel great sympathy for him, and hope he takes a lot of time off between now and the US Open.  (Passing on $3million in PIP money would be like not bothering to pick up a dime off the sidewalk for the rest of us.)  Rory is an amazing talent, and a fine fellow, and I hope some rest is indeed a cure for what’s ailing him.

Craig Loughry, Golf Ontario (@craigloughry): In January, Rory skipped the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii also an elevated event. As an RBC staff guy, I can’t believe he chose the RBC Heritage to sit out. He missed the cut at The Masters, so I’m not sure he could claim being tired as he had extra days to rest. He’s definitely not in a good headspace, he’ll no doubt come back fresh and show he’s a world class player in no time. But I do question the choice.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: Celebrities who reach the level of astronomic incomes undergo a transformation in personality. In Rory’s case, he has lived in a time when he actually looked for a lost ball and both parents worked several jobs to support his growth. He now has a net worth close to some countries. At his place in life, it will be increasingly more difficult to be and act like a normal person. Quite simply, he has a different perspective. In this case, he helped make the rules but it seems they aren’t for him.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): I don’t think he’s going to be too bothered by the “financial setback”, it’s just more bonus money that he’ll get slightly less of.  It was however disappointing to hear that he skipped the tournament given he was one of the driving forces behind the new schedule.  I assume it was a good personal reason, and will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): I think Rory struggles with controversy. Recall a few years back when he got into a legal spat with his former manager, then his ex-girlfriend and his game suffered. Now he’s in it with former good friend Sergio and most of the LIV guys as he fronts for the PGA Tour. No telling what Rory could accomplish if he just kept his head down and paid attention to golf. But then that’s probably not who he is.

Slow play is back in the news following comments made by Brooks Koepka about Patrick Cantlay at the Masters. Cantlay is methodical but presumably can’t be blamed for slowing the entire field given he was in the penultimate group. Many seem to have taken the attitude that ‘it is what it is’ and don’t even want to discuss slow play and any possible remedies. Fines don’t work and the Tour is unwilling to levy penalties. Maybe Koepka’s public shaming of Cantlay will work. Thoughts?

Deeks: Well, Koepka’s shaming of Cantlay certainly had no effect on Cantlay at the RBC Heritage. When his ball came to rest on the railroad tie at the side of the 14th green, it seemed like Cantlay took about 10 minutes to play his next shot.  None of the announcers pointed out the delay, and there was no mention of a time clock in play.  It was inexcusable, in my view.  But clearly, on site, “it [was] what it [was].”

Loughry: Talking about slow play will not correct slow play by itself. The simplest method I see is a shot clock and use the assigned walking scorers (Tour Officials) to be the timekeepers with ticking clocks attached to them. If that isn’t reasonable then we will continue to have these discussions about slow play, which is seemingly an age-old problem, maybe as old as the game itself.

Schurman: This is a new problem with LIV vs the PGA TOUR. Koepka (LIV) got a taste of smaller fields with larger spacing between groups and therefore quicker playing times. Cantlay is slow but so are many others. The problem is TV shows the entire routine of certain players which is affecting the general public’s pace of play. The only solution is the enforcement of a time clock with fines for first and second offences followed by stroke penalties for those after that.

Rule: I was never a big fan of Cantlay as he has absolutely zero personality and this slow play makes me like him less.  It’s painfully slow.  Although it didn’t seem to affect Cantlay at the Heritage.  They need to do something to remedy the slow play.  The main problem is that young players see the routines and develop similar habits that they will eventually bring to the tour.  And of course all amateur tournaments will suffer the same fate.  They need to start speeding play up at Junior and competitive Amateur events so that players stop developing these terrible routines.

Mumford: A few years back, the club I belonged to decided to post a Turtle list to try and shame the slowpokes into speeding up. Two of them were friends I played with a lot. One of them swore up and down that he wasn’t slow. The other acknowledged he was but didn’t care. I doubt shaming is going to speed up Cantlay or anyone else when millions of dollars are on the line. Penalty strokes will.

The PGA Tour schedule shows two ‘regular’ tournaments before the next elevated event, the Wells Fargo Championship. In between we have the Zurich Classic and the Mexico Open, where we shouldn’t expect to see too many Top 50 players. Will you watch either event or use the time to work on your short game? 

Deeks: It’s hard to say which is a more useless way to spend my time… watch those events or work on my short game. I’ve probably spent an equal amount of time on both activities over the last 50 years, and have no positive results to show from either.   Maybe I’ll just wash my car.

Loughry: My game is way more important than catching any of these “other events”, my short game will get a work-out the next couple of weeks. I’ve said it before, I’ll only park time to watch Majors (and the Players Championship), otherwise, if I’m available, I’ll watch maybe parts of these other events.

Schurman: Coming off the years of Covid followed by thousands of new golfers filling every nook and cranny and then a fairly mild winter but not mild enough to play, I have enough outdoor activities to serve many months. The bickering and hypocrisy, the disgusting response to LIV by the PGA TOUR (lifetime bans and monstrous purses) is making me reconsider my infatuation with all things golf. Somehow, the innocence is gone. Regarding Zurich and Mexico, I’ll record both and speed-watch them at night unless it rains here.

Rule: I don’t think there is much chance I’ll catch any of the next two tournaments unless a Canadian ends up in contention on Sunday.  Wake me up when the PGA Championship is here.

Mumford: I generally record the second-tier events, then speed through them in the evening with MUTE button at the ready. The tough thing is avoiding all the news alerts, tweets and updates that could spoil the outcome. My short game definitely needs some attention but so does the house, the yard and my cluttered garage. Tough decision.