BMW Match Play Challenge on Sky

[Blue in Munich]

Looks interesting, got the pros only using 7 clubs for a change.

 

[Britishshooting]

I think it’s also live on Facebook ‘PGA Tour’ page.

 

[SteveW86]

Kevin Na and Max Homa have black ankle socks on, this is ridiculous!

 

[davidy233]

Bryson, Collin, Max Homa and Kevin Na - Bryson wearing a baseball cap instead of the Ben Hogan bunnet

 

[Deleted member 23344]

... and shorts!

 

[davidy233]

... and shorts!

They wear shorts every week on this charity thing

 

[Grant85]

Looks like this kind of event is going to get a regular airing.

Personally happy to see a new format with guys miked up and playing in a relaxed atmosphere.

Appreciate the competition is very much secondary and that's why it will probably not hold enough attention if they do these every, but hopefully it is a stepping stone to more regular matchplay or some new formats.

Feel there is a big case for a complete overhaul of the PGA Tour format. Moving to 54 hole, no cut events (Fri-Sun), with smaller fields of 60 players, and having regular playoff events (Tue-Thu) with bigger fields and effectively the best of the rest fighting for status to get into the top tier. The current format is stale and there are far too many people in these events, clinging onto status one way or another who don't add any interest or often do much other than make a few cuts every month.

I think sadly we will see very little change to the format and they will keep running 40 x 72 hole strokeplay events on the tour every year.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Looks like this kind of event is going to get a regular airing.

Personally happy to see a new format with guys miked up and playing in a relaxed atmosphere.

Appreciate the competition is very much secondary and that's why it will probably not hold enough attention if they do these every, but hopefully it is a stepping stone to more regular matchplay or some new formats.

Feel there is a big case for a complete overhaul of the PGA Tour format. Moving to 54 hole, no cut events (Fri-Sun), with smaller fields of 60 players, and having regular playoff events (Tue-Thu) with bigger fields and effectively the best of the rest fighting for status to get into the top tier. The current format is stale and there are far too many people in these events, clinging onto status one way or another who don't add any interest or often do much other than make a few cuts every month.

I think sadly we will see very little change to the format and they will keep running 40 x 72 hole strokeplay events on the tour every year.

There are smaller field, no cut events. The WGC events.
They also have matchplay and stableford events.

 

[Grant85]

There are smaller field, no cut events. The WGC events.
They also have matchplay and stableford events.

Yes, but the WGCs are 4 events a year and merge into the rest of the PGA Tour schedule and have a very samey feel about it .
As far as I know there is only 1 matchplay event, which is the WGC matchplay.
And the stableford / modified stableford are alternate field events (held on the week of a major or WGC) that I've never been able to watch a single shot from.

I'd like to see a focus on the top 50 or 60 week to week, but with a far more fluid transition from the players below that to get into the big events if they play well enough.
Have a reshuffle every 5 weeks with best 3/5 finishes.
Players 51-60 move down into the 2nd tier for the following 5 weeks and play in those events. These would still be big events with decent fields and very much worth televising. Especally to have golf on days other than Thursday to Sunday.

We wouldn't have the current situation of someone like Brian Gay, Scott Stallings, Scott Brown clinging onto status year after year, despite never really bringing any eyeballs to the events or competing to win (or even trying to win) anything. They have to play well, or find their level.

There's probably around 200 players who could claim to be 'exempt' for the PGA Tour, whether that's guys from the 125 money list, Korn Ferry Finals, career money list exemption, winners exemption, 200 made cuts exemption etc. And another load of guys who can get invites to certain events throughout the year and play 7 or 8 tournaments.

The European Tour is probably much the same and really has to find a way of distributing it's prize funds to the top players rather than spreading it so thinly and having no way of even attracting those top players most weeks. The ET more so than the PGA Tour.

At the moment, you can watch something like the Rocket Mortgage Classic and unless it's a close finish from the leading players, there is literally nothing to play for. No one is jostling for position, there is no drama on someone missing a putt or making a putt to get into the following week etc.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Yes, but the WGCs are 4 events a year and merge into the rest of the PGA Tour schedule and have a very samey feel about it .
As far as I know there is only 1 matchplay event, which is the WGC matchplay.
And the stableford / modified stableford are alternate field events (held on the week of a major or WGC) that I've never been able to watch a single shot from.

I'd like to see a focus on the top 50 or 60 week to week, but with a far more fluid transition from the players below that to get into the big events if they play well enough.
Have a reshuffle every 5 weeks with best 3/5 finishes.
Players 51-60 move down into the 2nd tier for the following 5 weeks and play in those events. These would still be big events with decent fields and very much worth televising. Especally to have golf on days other than Thursday to Sunday.

We wouldn't have the current situation of someone like Brian Gay, Scott Stallings, Scott Brown clinging onto status year after year, despite never really bringing any eyeballs to the events or competing to win (or even trying to win) anything. They have to play well, or find their level.

There's probably around 200 players who could claim to be 'exempt' for the PGA Tour, whether that's guys from the 125 money list, Korn Ferry Finals, career money list exemption, winners exemption, 200 made cuts exemption etc. And another load of guys who can get invites to certain events throughout the year and play 7 or 8 tournaments.

The European Tour is probably much the same and really has to find a way of distributing it's prize funds to the top players rather than spreading it so thinly and having no way of even attracting those top players most weeks. The ET more so than the PGA Tour.

At the moment, you can watch something like the Rocket Mortgage Classic and unless it's a close finish from the leading players, there is literally nothing to play for. No one is jostling for position, there is no drama on someone missing a putt or making a putt to get into the following week etc.

Yes there is; Fedex Cup points are dependent on position, so the better position they finish the better they do in the Fedex, they're always playing for that throughout the season; top 10's get you into the next week if you don't already have tour membership status; and placing can get people into majors, such as top 10's in some events give Open qualification.

Brown, Stallings and Gay have 8 PGA tour wins between them

 

[Grant85]

Yes there is; Fedex Cup points are dependent on position, so the better position they finish the better they do in the Fedex, they're always playing for that throughout the season; top 10's get you into the next week if you don't already have tour membership status; and placing can get people into majors, such as top 10's in some events give Open qualification.

Brown, Stallings and Gay have 8 PGA tour wins between them

Appreciate the Fed Ex cup is a points thing, but it's over the whole season. So there are very few important elements to that until the final few weeks when guys are genuinely playing to get into next week. The rest of the season it barely matters.

8 PGA Tour wins, sure - but nothing recently - Brown and Gay won in 2013 and Stallings last won in 2014. Hardly guys knocking on the door.

Scott Brown's 2019/20 season was;
22 events
13 missed cuts
9 made cuts (41%)
T2, T14 and the rest of the events he is finishing 30th, 40th, 50th etc.
The result, nearly $1 million and another year grinding out Tied 30th finishes. No doubt would have been more like $1.25 million if not for the postponements.

What I'm saying, is it good for getting more interest in the sport if this guy (and dozens like him) can hang about on Tour for a decade or more?
Basically record a string of hugely mediocre finishes and do the exact same next season?

It would be much more exciting watching people at this level if they were pushing themselves every 4 or 5 weeks to get into the bigger events rather than coasting throughout a season and barely having any tournaments where they are beating more than a handful of other players.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Appreciate the Fed Ex cup is a points thing, but it's over the whole season. So there are very few important elements to that until the final few weeks when guys are genuinely playing to get into next week. The rest of the season it barely matters.

8 PGA Tour wins, sure - but nothing recently - Brown and Gay won in 2013 and Stallings last won in 2014. Hardly guys knocking on the door.

Scott Brown's 2019/20 season was;
22 events
13 missed cuts
9 made cuts (41%)
T2, T14 and the rest of the events he is finishing 30th, 40th, 50th etc.
The result, nearly $1 million and another year grinding out Tied 30th finishes. No doubt would have been more like $1.25 million if not for the postponements.

What I'm saying, is it good for getting more interest in the sport if this guy (and dozens like him) can hang about on Tour for a decade or more?
Basically record a string of hugely mediocre finishes and do the exact same next season?

It would be much more exciting watching people at this level if they were pushing themselves every 4 or 5 weeks to get into the bigger events rather than coasting throughout a season and barely having any tournaments where they are beating more than a handful of other players.

If they come 30th they are beat a shed load more than a couple of people.