What If They Threw a Major Championship and Nobody Came?

by Mulligan Stu on May 21, 2008 5:14 PM EDT

Did you know there's a major championship taking place this week? A Champions Tour major - the Senior PGA Championship. I'd bet that many golf fans aren't aware this is a major week, and that many of those who are aware don't care.

But, then, apparently, quite a few Champions Tour players don't care either:

It began almost two weeks ago when the first big name in the field, Ben Crenshaw, informed the PGA of America that he was going to have to withdraw from the Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

A few days later Fred Funk pulled out because of an injury, and then Lanny Wadkins and Gary Player cited personal reasons for not coming to play.

Sunday, shortly after winning the Regent Charity Classic in Alabama, Andy Bean pulled out as well.

Crenshaw withdrew because of a "scheduling conflict." Fulton Allem withdrew to play in the Colonial, where he is a past champion and has zero chance (not that anyone cares whether - or where - Fulton Allem is playing).

Curtis Strange and Mark McCumber withdrew. So did Bob Charles, Larry Nelson and Dave Stockton. Four of the Top 30 players on the money list have withdrawn. So far, 26 players total have withdrawn.

And Andy Bean - what's up with that? The guy won last week, he should be racing to Oak Hill for this tournament.

Hey, if the Champions Tour players themselves don't care about this tournament, why should I?

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is it really a big deal ?

Considering that the Senior/Champions Tour was basically built up to keep fan favorites who were getting too old to compete with the new batch of flat bellies, and they don’t have cuts – the Champions Tour is pretty much an exhibition tour with bigger dollars than the LPGA.

With the exception of the Senior Open, which does have some legitimate history with the USGA, the Champions Tour doesn’t have a whole lot of legitimacy. It was a marketing tool to begin with, so skipping “exhibition” majors aren’t really a huge deal.

IMHO

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 21, 2008 6:52 PM EDT reply actions

big deal?

Clearly the Champions Tour isn’t taken very seriously by the general public, and the players certainly have a different attitude towards the tour, too. Still, it IS one of the biggest events on that tour, and you’d think that most players would want to compete for that title.

The USGA certainly brings a lot more cachet to the U.S. Senior Open than the PGA of America brings to the Senior PGA Championship. But in fact, the Senior Open has only been contested since 1980, while the Senior PGA has been around since 1937. For decades, this was really the only significant tournament in America for the old guys. Gene Sarazen won it, Paul Runyan won it, so did Sam Snead (a lot!), Julius Boros, Roberto di Vicenzo, Charlie Sifford, Don January … and that was before the Senior Tour existed.

And since the Senior Tour arrived, Palmer, Nicklaus, Player, Irwin, Watson, Floyd, Trevino, Thomson, a who’s who.

Pretty sad that some of today’s Champions Tour guys can discount all that.

by Mulligan Stu on May 21, 2008 8:33 PM EDT reply actions

it happens

It’s a shame that traditional championships go by the wayside. Unfortunately, the substance has faded to be replaced by slick marketing. The guys are still competitive among each other – the tour is just not taken seriously by the public.

a question to consider – do you think that ANY of the guys in the Senior PGA wouldn’t trade this tournament for a chance to play and compete on THE PGA Tour just one more time ?

"this ball will fit in that fairway"

by courtgolf on May 21, 2008 10:53 PM EDT reply actions