Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where March Madness makes us wistful for the PGA Tour’s old single-elimination match play tournament.
Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.
Cameron Young seized the Players Championship title while Ludvig Åberg saw his hopes vanish on the back nine Sunday, but redemption will come for the Swede: he will win a major before Young.
Bob Harig: FICTION. It might but that is too difficult to say. Right now, Young is every bit as strong of a player as Åberg and is riding a wave of confidence. We said the same thing about Åberg, too.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. It’s a toss-up since Åberg has threatened in each of his first two Masters, while Young quietly has six top-10 finishes in majors. They are rapidly climbing the BPWAM list, and it wouldn’t be a shock if either guy breaks through this season.
Max Schreiber: FACT. This is a good prompt. Two great players who are poised to win majors. And perhaps both will in their careers. But Åberg, despite what happened Sunday, is the better talent by a razor-thin margin. Therefore, he gets his major triumph first.
John Schwarb: FICTION. Two great players but Young having strengthened his game on the greens is the stuff of major titles. The New Yorker will have a lot of support at Shinnecock, might the U.S. Open be his week?
Among many other nuggets last week at his news conference, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp cited a desire to move back to events with cuts. That is simply the only way to respectably stage stroke-play tournament golf.
Bob Harig: FICTION. There are numerous strong events without a cut—including the playoff events—and they have a place. But this is a good move more because it gives a great number of players a chance.
Jeff Ritter: FICTION. I’m with Bob here—there are times where having no cut makes sense, but it’s smart to add more depth to signature-event fields, and the move will also be popular in the locker room.
Max Schreiber: FACT. "Only" might be a tad strong. Every now and then, it's fine. But a cut adds drama to events during a Friday round that otherwise might be an afterthought. Tiger Woods has said that he's most proud of his record of 142 consecutive made cuts. And adding cuts with an expanded field to signature events is the best way to determine a worthy champion.
John Schwarb: FICTION. Not the only way but it’s the path of least resistance with the membership, so that’s one thing Rolapp should be able to push through. But a hybrid Tour Championship with stroke play feeding into match play would be wonderful.
Rolapp also said the greater “golfing ecosystem” should work together more commercially … to that end, working with the PGA of America to have a Ryder Cup at TPC Sawgrass should be on his wish list.
Bob Harig: FACT. While it might not happen anytime soon, the idea of match play on the Stadium course is intriguing. Rolapp’s plea, however, was clearly more about maximizing revenue among the parties while also a subtle hint that maybe the Tour ought to reap the benefits of its players competing in those tournaments.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. You could stage the Ryder Cup in a cow pasture and it would still be riveting, but Sawgrass would be an incredible venue. So would several other PGA Tour stops, including Pebble, Muirfield, Scottsdale or Riviera.
Max Schreiber: FICTION. We see TPC Sawgrass every year, and it’s a great course. But for Ryder Cups—and majors—it’s better to go to venues we don’t see too often.
John Schwarb: FACT. The next open U.S. date is 2039 and with how majors and Cups are booked so far out, we might know this host within a year or two—perhaps new-sheriff-in-town Rolapp goes to the PGA of America and offers up TPC Sawgrass with the Tour getting a cut of the gate, merchandise and concessions. And the Tour will handle crowd control.
Round 1 of the Masters is three weeks away and still no sign of Tiger Woods swinging—he didn’t even play in a TGL semifinal for his team. That’s a bad sign for the season’s first major.
Bob Harig: FACT. It doesn’t mean Tiger won’t play in the Masters. But if he can’t hit 12 shots into a simulator—and why wouldn’t he if he were able?—that doesn’t bode well for being ready for the Masters. Perhaps next week’s Champions Tour event in Newport Beach offers another opportunity.
Jeff Ritter: FICTION. I’m just reading tea leaves like everyone else, but I think Woods plans to give it a go at Augusta. Everything he’s doing now off the course is in preparation for Round 1 that Thursday. If he doesn’t think hitting a few shots into a screen helps him get ready, then may as well skip it.
Max Schreiber: FACT. Perhaps he still plays the Masters, but not having any competitive reps will hamper him enormously in Augusta, especially if three weeks beforehand he couldn’t even hit a few simulator shots. He was able to amaze the golf world in 2022 when he played the Masters and made the cut just a little over a year since his 2021 car crash. Now, 50 years old and several more injuries/surguries later, can he replicate that magic? It’s unlikely.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as TPC Sawgrass Should Host a Ryder Cup.
