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 Tiger Woods’ first public comments in months, the potential for a new PGA Tour schedule, Rory McIlroy’s major career total and more.
Tiger Woods spoke to the media for the first time in months when he held his annual press conference at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas (won by Hideki Matsuyama). Tiger touched on a number of topics; which one was more interesting to you?
Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I was most intrigued by Woods’ involvement in the future vision for the PGA Tour; I wrote about this here but what’s fascinating to me is the pairing of Woods—the ultimate insider, and at this point one of the Tour’s longest-serving figures at any position—and Rolapp—the ultimate outsider with admittedly very little specific golf knowledge—as shapers of the Tour’s future.
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): I don’t think anyone expected this particular push to get so into the rumored schedule changes, but I thought Tiger talking about it added some legitimacy. The health update was both surprising and disappointing. I don’t think Tiger can come back and fight regularly these days, but it would be fun to see him healthy and playing a few times a year. The clock is ticking for the Masters.
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): I was more interested in Tiger’s comment about YouTube. He shared that he felt the Internet’s endless swing video library was helping to turbocharge the youth golf movement. Every once in a while, you’ll hear Woods say something that reflects that he thinks about golf on a completely different plane than most ordinary people. One example was when he started talking about “cutting” and “pulling” the spin needed on chip shots at Augusta National. This was another one.
As chairman of the Future Competitions Committee, Tiger also indicated that the Tour is looking at creating a shortened schedule (and avoiding the NFL) that could begin in 2027, though he was light on details. There’s been a lot of talk about the potential for a new tour schedule in the future, but what’s the biggest obstacle to making it all happen?
Dethier: Ironically one of the things the Tour wants to change is the very thing that prevents it from making that change. There are so many stakeholders (cue the buzzwords), so many separate agreements with so many different tournaments that it’s challenging to get everything right for everyone without crossing a dozen lines that can’t be crossed. Put another way: The tour is a big boat, and it’s hard to turn a big boat around.
Berhow: Wow, I love the boat analogy, Dylan. good job. But the answer is that there is a lot to make something like this happen. I’d like a schedule that takes the top 70 players and puts them in the same 20 events a year (including majors) and suddenly we have some simplicity, continuity, distinction and growing rivalry. But what about the middle class? How many members are there? How does the Korn Ferry Tour affect you? What about smaller events? It’s frustrating that we still don’t have a good way to do this, but I’m also glad I’m not the person responsible for this. Because it can’t be easy.
Colgan: Every now and then, the history of a major professional sports league comes down to the brute force capacity of its leadership. For baseball, it happened with the pitch clock. For basketball, with first and second “aprons”. For football, with the 2011 lockout. I think brute force is the biggest obstacle facing the PGA Tour, and we’ll know if Woods and PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp are up to it soon enough.
Six-time major champion Nick Faldo said it will be “harshOn Rory McIlroy winning another major, saying, in part, “it’s like climbing Everest, you don’t come back and say, ‘Let’s climb it again next month’. There was so much excitement at Augusta and you can’t replicate the excitement of winning a major like that again.” Do you buy this? And what do you say, how many other degrees does Rory earn in his career?
Dethier: Faldo is right that you cannot reproduce that emotion. But of course you can refill and come back hungry for more. I’ll give Rory two more majors, seven in total, rare air and one more than Faldo…
Berhow: Seemed like a cheap shot, as you could technically say that about every major champion of recent times. But that’s what makes these guys awesome. They find ways to keep that momentum going and keep pushing the goalposts. Rory wins three more degrees. He will have enough chances.
Colgan: The central point of Sir Nick’s argument here is wrong. Emotion was the greatest of Rory’s barrier to break the great drought – not a superpower. A looser, more aggressive and more confident Rory McIlroy would have won eight majors over the past decade – and the freedom to live in that version of himself is what will accelerate the final phase of his competitive life.
The PGA Tour released the finalists for it Player of the Year (Jack Nicklaus Award) with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Ben Griffin winning nominees. While it looks like Scottie will make it to his fourth straight this year, let’s look ahead: Which player not on this list will be nominated this time next year?
Dethier: Cameron Young. The second half of this season, with his victory and Ryder Cup star showing, was a turning point. Cam’s time is coming.
Berhow: Tommy Fleetwood. Another guy who got hot late and will continue to build on it. I also think a healthier Xander bounces back and returns to something closer to that 2024 form.
Colgan: Lots of fun answers to this question, in part because of the number of players who seemed to take a half-step back (due to injury or form or some other reason) in 2025. I’ll go with Ludvig Aberg, who was the trendiest pick in golf to win at Augusta in April. We’ve seen golfers take a step back in their second professional season before, only to come back in earnest in Year 3. Aberg still has all the talent, it’s just a matter of time.
The PGA Tour and LPGA team up for the Grant Thornton Invitational this week in Florida. Which two-person pairing is most intriguing to you?
Dethier: Bud Cauley and Jessica Korda for one simple reason – we haven’t seen Jess Korda play competitive golf in two years! Meanwhile, her younger sister has had the successes of a career, with a few sidewalk dives thrown in for good measure. Fun week ahead.
Berhow: The choice of Jessica Korda is good. I’ll go with Luke Clanton and Lottie Woad, a pair of former Florida State players who have the potential to be stars in the majors.
Colgan: I can’t explain why, but it seems to me that Wyndham Clark and Lexi Thompson have lived similar lives. I’m excited to see them in action.
