The world of golf has experienced huge changes recently. There is a fear that money will be the main factor in the future of this sport, although the situation can be said to be such at the moment.
However, some have remained loyal to the PGA Tour despite huge financial offers. Sky Sports presenter, David Howell is one of those who fear for the future of golf.
In today's time, when more and more businessmen pour money into sports and clubs, there are fewer and fewer athletes who play sports for love, trophies, and prestige. Although he is aware that for some golfers the arrival of LIV Golf and PIF is a big deal, he believes that it all spoils the complete image of golf.
"I would say we're [at] a precipice where I think with this crazy money that's going on, in my opinion, is close to ruining the spectacle of professional golf.
For the golfers themselves, short-term, they're coining it in aren't they, the good ones especially and some of the low ones down as well. In the short term, if you were a golfer, you might be thinking 'this is this is great, let's jump on the gravy train.'"- Howell said, as quoted by golfmonthly.
Fans of this sport want to see golf like we used to see years ago.
The fact is that the current situation on the golf scene is far from ideal. The divisions that have appeared, the huge amount of money that has appeared, as well as the dubious faces that have had no contact with golf, are the reasons why fans of this sport are beginning to have an aversion to golf.
Prestige and tradition have become secondary for many golfers.
Each of the golfers had a childhood dream to one day play on the PGA Tour and win the Majors. However, the money that LIV Golf has brought into the world of golf has changed the minds of many.
It's evident that many golfers engage in this sport primarily for financial gain rather than a genuine love for the game.
.Howell emphasizes that fans want to witness fantastic matches with impressive moves. The prize itself doesn't matter to them as long as the trophy is won. For fans, the primary focus is on watching the best athletes lift the trophy. The goal for everyone should be to aim for significant trophies, not just the reward.
"Nobody cares if Wyndham Clark wins $3.6m, $1.6m or $800,000, they want to see someone holing a putt on the last that means everything. It was the same with Matthieu Pavon last week, it wasn't because he won $1.6m. It was that he achieved a childhood dream.
The trophies also matter. I mean, LIV have got a good critical mass of players now, but no one cares about the tournaments and no fan cares about that particular LIV trophy. Fans just want to watch players caring about what they're playing in.
Money is important to everyone, isn't it? But you've got to get it right in the priority of things, and at the moment it's totally out of kilter."
David Howell: I don't agree that you want all the best players playing against each other all the time
More and more emphasis is placed on unification in the golf scene and the fact that fans of this sport want to watch the best golfers in one place.
A PGA Tour-PIF deal could produce such an outcome.
Although Norman and other golf executives, as well as players, advocate such an idea, Howell disagrees that fans of the sport want to watch the best from week to week. For him, the primary thing is to watch tournaments that will bring excitement. At this point, it's hard to predict whether the future can bring the outcome that Norman and others want. Howell is one of those who see things from a different perspective.
"Holistically, globally, what do we want? We want good tournaments. I don't agree that you want all the best players playing against each other all the time. I don't buy into that, as you want some Cinderella stories along the way, but you want a critical mass of them often enough to make the tournaments really mean something."- Howell concluded.
A lot of things have to fall into place at this point for things to look similar to how they were before LIV Golf came along. The PGA Tour and LIV Golf are trying to achieve supremacy, and the recent deal of the PGA Tour with SSG raises pessimism that a final agreement between the PIF and the PGA Tour will be reached. In any case, an exciting next few months await us, in which things could change further.
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