Sign up every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Cameron Young’s Players Championship title, the potential for big changes coming to the PGA Tour and more.
Cameron Young shot a 4-under 68 win the Players Championship by one over Matt Fitzpatrick, while 54-hole leader Ludvig Aberg shot 76 and faded on the back nine. Did Young win this one? Or did Aberg miss it?
Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Both, I guess? It seemed like about a dozen guys “lost it” at various points during the day, Aberg’s boss among them. But Young went and got it too; His 17th and 18th holes were championship worthy.
Josh Schrock, news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Yes? Cameron Young had to play great golf on a windy course with trouble everywhere to even have a chance to take this one home. And yet, he still needed Ludwig to let go of the wheel. If Ludvig goes even on Sunday, Young has to do what he did just to force a playoff. Ludvig opened the door and Young came through and closed it with his play on the last two holes.
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): They are both. Aberg had the chance to win it, but when he shoots a final par 76 on Sunday, you let the tournament slip away. But it works both ways. Take 17 for example: Fitzpatrick played to the middle of the green with a one-shot lead, while Young attacked the pin, got it to 10 feet, birdied, then won the thing on 18 (and with the best drive of the day on the finishing hole). That’s going out and earning it.
Until late last summer, when he won his first PGA Tour event, Young was known as a lucky loser who had yet to win on the big stage. Now he has his second win and a Players title. What has changed?
Dethier: There’s a bigger answer to that question—he seems to have found some winning mojo—but there’s also a more specific answer. What changed is his placement. He has also credited the change of his perspective to the greens; when he hired his college friend, fellow Wake Forest Demon Deacon Kyle Sterbinsky, before the Truist Championship last May, they hit something right away. Since then it has been on an upward trajectory.
Shrock: Okay, Dylan. The young man’s transition from a scrappy athlete who routinely missed short-range shots to one of the best players on Tour has been key. I think finally moving him to Wyndham and then backing him up by being the best player in the United States in Bethpage has given him some added confidence.
Berhow: It’s a little mix of everything. The look is definitely great, but the superpower that so many of these guys have is that they think their best can beat anyone. You need this to be elite in any sport. And after winning the Wyndham Championship, he had to feel like the monkey was off his back. That led to a big week at the Ryder Cup and, now, his second win. Those small wins along the way can lead to big things in a short amount of time.
At a much-anticipated State of the PGA Tour press conference during The Players Championship, new Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced his six pillars for establishing a new Tour (with nothing yet finalized). In short: a two-track competition system, a better launch event, bigger markets, promotion/relegation, match play potential and more. (You can learn more about it here.) What were your initial thoughts about the pillars? And what specifically was most interesting to you?
Dethier: They sound good to me! But Sunday got me thinking about one thing: for all the talk of finding bigger markets — which I support, to be clear — there’s still a lot to be said for leaning into mid-sized city grandeur. Jacksonville is the fourth largest city in Florida and a mid-sized television market, but the Players is the event in town. I’m sure being based out of New York can help sell corporate hospitality, but there’s also a happy medium there.
Shrock: The biggest thing for me was that Rolapp relied on a lot of things that golf fans and the golf media have been asking for. I like that the idea is the field of 120 people with cutouts. The PGA Tour needs to build on the major drama and build on it, especially on this two-track system. Sign up for promotion and drop as well. I still have a lot of questions about the two songs and money and how it all works. I love going to the big media markets, but I also don’t want to see the PGA Tour completely abandon the smaller storied towns. On paper, what Rolapp presented sounds good, but I’ll wait for the next address in June before I really get out on my skis.
Berhow: Overall it’s a big step forward. I like that the match play can be included in the playoffs because changing the format every two years like we do is not the answer. I think a lingering question I have is about the two-track system with the Korn Ferry Tour also still existing. I know we want to condense the golf schedule and make the events more important, but when you think about two leagues playing over the Korn Ferry… that’s still a lot of golf, even though one is clearly the better league. I guess my point is that we have to lose golf for people to really fall in love with it. I’m skeptical that this will do it, but I’ll wait to learn more before losing sleep over it.
If you’re a tour member, what might you like about this plan? And what can you not be a fan of?
Dethier: If you are a member of the tournament, I think you would generally be in favor of these changes; The fact that the Tour is sticking with 120-player fields rather than pursuing further reductions (like some of the current Signature Events, which feel empty compared to 70-somethings) is a welcome compromise. But there will be players who resist the change, who are skeptical that fewer tournaments will bring more attention, who feel like there are fewer seats at the big table. But the Tour is leaning towards meritocracy. This is a good thing for anyone who plays better.
Shrock: Rolapp seems to have done a good job of appeasing all membership segments. As Dylan pointed out, some of the guys won’t be thrilled about fewer tournaments, but I think the expansion to 120-player fields is a big win for the “middle class” of the tournament. If the second half or PGB tournament gets purses similar to what standard PGA Tour events get now ($8-10 million), it should keep just about everyone happy.
Berhow: The elite guys will play a little less and for more money, which I think they’ll like. If there’s any player who might not be excited, it’s probably the guys who are used to being in the top 100, but who can play off second court, which can be a bit of a hit to the ego (and bank account). But is it also guaranteed gaming privileges? So who knows.
If the Average Joe Fan is sitting at home wondering what all these proposed changes mean for them, what would you tell them?
Dethier: If I’m being optimistic, it means you’ll have some clarity on which tournaments are actually top-tier PGA Tour events and which aren’t. I hope this is the PGA Tour schedule that will finally come together in its final form. For now. Maybe. We will see.
Shrock: I’d say we’re moving toward getting a schedule that gives you a bunch of events with all the big-name players that should come with bigger stakes than what the current PGA Tour offers. You’ll also get some extra golf on the second course if you’re interested. But we’ll see if Rolapp can make it all come together. It always looks good in PowerPoint. Execution is sometimes much more difficult, especially with so many stakeholders at the table.
Berhow: There’s still plenty of golf on TV every weekend, but will one tournament be better than the other?
Highlights of the weekend with the Masters a month away: an up-and-down T22 finish for Scottie Scheffler, who looked off his game at TPC Sawgrass; OR Bryson DeChambeau winning overnight at LIV Golf Singapore?
Dethier: Scottie is the bigger deal because we expected DeChambeau to enter the majors in good shape regardless. It seems likely that Scheffler will too – but he has some adjustments to figure out between now and then. Scheffler hitting balls in the rain after Thursday’s round will be one of my enduring images of the week. It will be fun to watch him find what’s next.
Shrock: It’s Scottie. Clearly something is going on between the driver and the dive in the approach game. It’s officially a concern with a month to go. My only note on LIV Singapore is that the sun sleeves need to go away.
Berhow: Let’s go with both, because Scottie hasn’t been playing up to his Scottie Scheffler standards lately, but here’s the craziness. As far as he’s looked in the last month, his finishes this year are (starting with the most recent): T22, T12, T4, T3, 1. The good thing is that this version of Scottie is still really good and once he fixes his driver, I imagine he’ll be back to the guy we know well. Now he has some time to work on some things. As for Bryson, it’s nothing! DeChambeau playing well at the top of the Masters is good for the sport, and he has finished in the top six in his last two Masters starts. Bryson fighting at Augusta would be a lot of fun.
What was your biggest takeaway at the Players Championship?
Dethier: The PGA Tour has been searching for its third star — the non-Scottie-and-Rory division — for a while now. I’m not saying Cam Young is there, but he’s certainly entering the conversation. Also, let the players be! It’s not a big one. It’s its own thing. That thing is big and fun and important and chaotic. I loved this edition.
Shrock: Ludvig will win a Major this year and be the third Dylan star named by the end of the year. He played great for the first two days, was quiet on Saturday and things got away from him on a course where this is carnage all around. This has happened to countless people in Sawgrass. He clearly found something at Pebble and I think he’s going to take down some big events this summer. Honorable mention to Brooks Koepka, who is trending and was an odd couple Friday away from being in the mix on Sunday.
Berhow: Watching Ludwig struggle on the back nine on Sunday made me think I might like him even more for the Masters. Sometimes it’s good to get these things out of the way, learn from them, and move on. And I agree with Dylan. We can have four championships, but also have a players’ championship, which is a very good tournament! Few things are more exhausting than this major/non-major conversation, but we’ll certainly have it again next year.
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