Tiger is gone for an indefinite period. Most commentators think he\u2019ll miss a big chunk of the 2010 season. Quite frankly, I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll miss anything. But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here to talk about.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the rest of the guys on the PGA tour. They\u2019ve had a cushy ride on Tiger\u2019s coattails for about ten years now. All they\u2019ve had to do is show up, play decent golf, let Tiger win, and collect a handsome pay check. When the 91st player on the 2009 money list<\/a> earns over $1M, why bother to do much else?<\/p>\n Party\u2019s over. Tiger is damaged goods. We need other players who can move the needle for the Tour to maintain its profile. <\/p>\n Once we had Arnold Palmer, Doug Sanders, Julius Boros, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Tom Weiskopf. If these guys had been actors, each one would have been a leading man. Now the tour is full of supporting players and extras. <\/p>\n Who out there gets you excited about watching golf on TV? Who would you pay to see if the Tour came to your town? <\/p>\n All I can think of are Phil and John Daly, although Daly\u2019s attraction now is more about his pants<\/a> than his golf. <\/p>\n The PGA Tour is in more trouble than Tim Finchem wants to admit. 2010 will not be an easy year, and unless things change, 2011 will be worse. Professional golf could become a niche sport.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for players to step up and step out. We need interesting personalities out there, guys we can root for. We need players we care about. <\/p>\n Part of the problem is that too many of today\u2019s players came out of college, where they played team golf. Being an individual wasn\u2019t encouraged or even necessary, so the current breed of golfer doesn\u2019t know how to be one. <\/p>\n We also need players who care about winning. I heard one guy last summer interviewed after he choked away a win say that he\u2019s disappointed not to have won, but he played well overall and has a lot of positives to take away from the week. Incredible!<\/p>\n These days marketing is about establishing a brand. The brand that needs to be established is not for the Tour in general, but for each player, one by one. Professional golf lets fans get closer to the players than any other sport does, so it should be easy for golfers to make themselves known. But it\u2019s the golfers who have done the worst job of it. <\/p>\n Time to change that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tiger is gone for an indefinite period. Most commentators think he\u2019ll miss a big chunk of the 2010 season. Quite frankly, I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll miss anything. But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m here to talk about. It\u2019s the rest of the guys on the PGA tour. They\u2019ve had a cushy ride on Tiger\u2019s coattails for … Continue reading Time For PGA Tour Pros to Start Earning Their Living<\/span>