LIV Golf doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The Saudi-backed, Greg Norman-led breakaway circuit has forced the PGA Tour to make changes to its schedule and payment structure to entice players to stay put.
But is the start-up league entirely responsible for the slew of upgrades the Tour revealed Wednesday? Jordan Spieth isn’t sure.
“Well, I think certainly it’s impossible to not think that that was a catalyst for continuing to want to make sure that our, the players that we have on the PGA Tour now stay on the PGA Tour,” Spieth said ahead of this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. “Would this have gone that direction this soon? Maybe not, but to say that it wouldn’t have happened in general, I’m not sure.
“But I think that that certainly has been a catalyst for looking at the product as a whole and figuring out how to make it the best it can possibly be and maximize the strength of fields at the biggest events.”
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Bringing together the best players in the world on a more consistent basis has been a heavily discussed topic in recent months. During a players-only meeting at the BMW Championship last week, that very topic seemed to be where the conversation began and ended.
When he addressed the media Wednesday, Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, among other things, announced that top players will commit to at least a 20-event schedule that includes 12 elevated events. The Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Genesis Invitational and the Memorial Tournament are just a few of these high-status tournaments.
“Personally, competition, I guess, is always good to help push each other, but I’d rather have the competition just be us against what could possibly be better and better on the PGA Tour,” Spieth said. “Your competition is the best version of yourself kind of thing within the organization.
“I think that that would be the best-case scenario.”
In Wilmington, Delaware, last week, Spieth held a share of the lead early in the third round. But thanks to a double bogey on the par-4 fifth, his stay atop the board was short-lived.
An eventual T-19 finish wasn’t enough for a big jump up the FedEx Cup standings and Spieth will tee off Thursday eight shots behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
“It seems to be set up to where you believe no matter where you sit when you start this event that you can win the FedEx Cup, and I think that sitting in, I don’t know what I’m at, the 17th or 18th position, that’s obviously great,” Spieth said. “If I was at No. 1, I’d be like, well, I think it’s easier from the old way.
“Given my situation this week where I stand currently, I’m excited to go out there on one of my favorite tracks that we play all year and get started.”
The 2021 Tour Championship was Spieth’s first appearance at the event since it changed to the staggered start (he tied for 20th).
In 23 starts this season, the Texan collected six top 10s, two runner ups and a win at the RBC Heritage a week after missing the cut at the Masters.
“I would have liked a little bit more consistency, but that just came down to making putts this year,” the 2015 FedEx Cup champion said. “I’ve put in a lot of work now over the last couple months on it and starting to see a lot of results on the practice green and quite a bit on the course, and hopefully it can make it rain this week.”
