like Presidents Cup kicks off at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, two longtime golf broadcasters wonder if the biennial event will generate as much interest as another, smaller showdown that’s scheduled a few months from now.
“Everybody’s looking now to December to see the matchup between LIV and (the PGA Tour), with the top four players,” Gary McCord said on the latest episode of “Kostis & McCord: Off Their Rockers,” a GOLF production. “I think that’s taking precedent over everything at this point.”
McCord was referring to the one previously announced Match Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler vs. Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepkawhich will take place on a December date to be announced in Las Vegas. While McCord’s assertion that the upcoming matchup consists of the game’s top four players is obviously his opinion, it’s certainly not far off, especially when it comes to star power and name recognition. But it’s also the first time these made-for-TV matches will have a PGA Tour vs. LIV angle.
“I understand it’s not apples and oranges because one is an 18-hole match and the other is (four) days, but I’ll be really interested to see what the TV ratings are between those two,” Peter Kostis said. . “We’ll see how much interest there is.”
McCord said he thinks part of the reason the December game was scheduled was because of players’ frustration with the division of golf and the fact that an agreement has yet to be reached to unify the sport.
“I think basically the top four players in the world are getting tired of this crap going on,” McCord said. “We don’t know what happened a few weeks ago when they all met in New York to see if they could find something. No one has heard anything, as always. So I think these four guys are like, well, the hell with it, we’re going to do this match and see how it goes. And we’re also going to go and do TNT, which isn’t really one of the title sponsors on the PGA Tour. And if I were a sponsor on the PGA Tour and I could see my TV ratings drop and now I saw the top four players in the world getting ready to do a made-for-television event with TNT doing it – and if those numbers were close to the final day numbers of any of the four majors – it would be some hooting and hollering about what you guys are doing at PGA Tour headquarters in Ponte Vedra.”
At the Irish Open a few weeks ago, McIlroy said the match was not meant to send a message.
“You have the best player in the world. You have two guys in Bryson and Brooks who have earned majors in the last two years. You’ve made me, I haven’t done what those guys have done the last couple of years, but I’ve definitely felt like one of the best players in the world,” McIlroy said. “It’s a way to show the golf fans of the world that this is what can happen or these are the possibilities for the future. I’ve been saying this for a long time: I think golf and golf fans can see us together more than four once a year.”
McCord summed up his thoughts, saying, “I think these four guys are just pushing a pedal right now to do something.”
You can watch the entire episode below.