Once upon a time, in the world of professional golf, there was a sense of excitement and anticipation as the new season approached. A fresh start, a chance for players to showcase their skills and compete for glory. But as the calendar turned to the new year, something felt amiss. The focus on the game seemed to have been overshadowed by a series of distractions, leaving fans longing for the good old days.
Mackenzie Hughes and Patrick Cantlay, two players with differing perspectives, couldn't help but reminisce about what they considered to be the pinnacle of professional golf. For Hughes, it was the year 2019 – a time before the COVID-19 pandemic and when Tiger Woods reigned as the Masters champion. He reminisced about a time when the economic model of the sport felt sustainable, before the influx of money led to questions about the players' motivations and the state of the game. The golf he loved seemed to have been swallowed by a circus of excess.
