What is the PGA Championship, and what should it be?

[Jason Walker]

Stroke play makes for much better TV, while match-play makes for much better watching in person.

Bill,

I disagree with this.  Stroke play makes for a more certain outcome in terms of big names and the time of finish.  There's nothing more exciting than a nail-biter of a match that comes down to the final holes.  Remember the Battle of Brookline?

Remember the Accenture Match Play?

[mike_beene]

The PGA is what it is and it is a dime championship.Not to thread jack, but if you were granted the gift of winning 10 majors,would any of you have the PGA more than twice?

[jeffwarne]

Mike,
I'd be just fine with
3 Masters
2 US Opens
2 Open Championships
3 PGAs
Thank You

[Jud_T]

Oh, and one more thing.  As the representative organization of all the PGA members, what more could they do to promote the game of golf than to feature Match Play?

[mike_beene]

Jeff, assuming you are not messing with me,I think very few would want more PGAs than the other 3.Nothing wrong with being the least prestigious major.However,I think most would only want one and maybe two not because they want two but to get two grand slams.

[Mike Wagner]

Oh, and one more thing.  As the representative organization of all the PGA members, what more could they do to promote the game of golf than to feature Match Play?

They could  make everyone play in 4 hours or be disqualified.  That would be great for the game and make it much more interesting.

[Ronald Montesano]

1. I don't get everyone's fixation with Match Play...it's another form of competition, is all. If you think it identifies great champions, I give you Walter Burkemo, Jim Turnesa, Jim Ferrier, Vic Ghezzi and Olin Dutra. Not convinced? Try Bob Hamilton, Johnny Revolta, Chick Harbert and Tom Creavy...household names, all.

2. Call it "Glory's First Shot" and play it in February, as they did the one year at PGA National.

3. Can't believe they chose Bellerive to host the 100th playing of it. Boy, that was smart.

4. They had a good run of courses for a while, but places like Valhalla, Baltusrol and Hazeltine don't do much for it.

[Brian Freeman]

Jud - good point and good post.

I can accept the hesitations of those who worry that match-play would produce a no-name final four and the ratings and attendance would be terrible, though I personally think it should be match play.

To satisfy both camps, what if the PGA Championship followed this formula:

Wed: 18 holes stroke
Thur: 18 holes stroke, field cut to top 36 and ties, plus top 12 club pros.
Fri: 18 holes stroke, field cut to 8 with a sudden death playoff for the final spot(s) if required. Any playoff would be in prime time Friday night and would be nail-biting with plenty of great storylines. Having had 54 holes of stroke goes a long way to minimising the chance of a final four full of no-names, and yet there's still plenty of chance for a Cinderella story with a journeyman or two in in the top 8 after three rounds. In addition, the top four or eight club pros go through to their own match play playoff.
Sat: Match play 18-hole quarter finals in the AM, semi-finals in the PM.
Sun: 18 or 36-hole final and 18 or 36-hole third place playoff. Gold, silver and bronze medals in the club pro section.

+1 - love it.

[Dan Kelly]

I don't get everyone's fixation with Match Play...it's another form of competition, is all.

Yes. Exactly.

And as someone wiser than I put it, once upon a time: Variety is the spice of life.

It could be the spice of the PGA Championship, too.

[Matthew Petersen]

No one has mentioned the real reason they will never go back to match play - TV.

Match Play finals are excruciating to watch on TV because there's very little golf being played. On the one hand, that makes for plenty of commercial breaks, which I suppose CBS would like. On the other hand, unless the match features compelling names and very tight, compelling golf, viewers simply aren't going to tune in through those difficult-to-watch broadcasts. CBS doesn't want to go through 5 years of getting no ratings on Sunday just for the slim hope that some year Tiger and Rory will end up in the final.

In over a decade of the WGC Match Play event, the closest thing they've had to a "marquee" final match was 2003 when Tiger (1-seed) faced DLIII (3-seed). That's the best in terms of name recognition and seeding, by far ... and even that match really isn't that great.

The PGA isn't going to lose their TV cash cow by going back to a format that TV rightly loathes.

[Dan Kelly]

No one has mentioned the real reason they will never go back to match play - TV.

Well, I mentioned it, at least twice, and some others alluded to it -- but that's neither here nor there.

What is here and there is that (1) we were answering the questions posed by the thread -- and (2) we don't work for CBS, so their interests are irrelevant (to us).

I like Scott Warren's format.

Even CBS might find it ... consider-able.

[Martin Toal]

The PGA Championship has improved recently, but still can't be in the highest world echelon because the method used to select PGA club pros invited is a rather parochial one and is based on the PGA Professional National championship. No PGA pros from the other countries with great golfing pedigrees.

Likewise, apart from the majors, no invitees based on winning big events outside the US, but the winner of second or third string events on the PGA Tour get in.

The PGA could distinguish itself by going to some of the new great courses, but sadly it has chosen to go to places like Valhalla and Quali Hollow. Hope the greens are better by 2017. I guess it will be warm in Charlotte in August.

[Mark Pritchett]

Martin,

Which "great new courses" should the PGA consider?

[Dan Kelly]

Listening to Gary McCord yammer away, ceaselessly, during today's Wells Fargo tournament at Quail Hollow, and remembering how much dead air would have to be filled during a Match Play tournament, I officially withdraw my support for a Match Play PGA Championship on CBS.

[V. Kmetz]

Play the PGA in May and bump the Players back to March.

Maybe on Memorial Day weekend.

Most people are already thinking football by August anyway.

Amen, except that Memorial Day is too close to the Open and would trash Jack's Muirfield event; but moving to May makes too much sense to overwhelm the political, commercial and practical points of disconnect between the PGA of America and the PGA Tour.  If it weren't so, I would advocate that the PGA be held at Sawgrass perpetually

Moving the PGA to mid-May would give it instant re-energy appeal, would bridge the cruel 2 month gap for fans between the Masters and US Open and because of the month, would open it up for a greater variety of geographic climate venues (I can't think of one place in the contiguous 48 where May isn't one of the finer months).

Move the damn TPC back to March in place of that almost completely anonymous Tampa tournament.

cheers

vk

Oh yeah...and lose Whistling Straits as a venue.

[Matthew Rose]

Play the PGA in May and bump the Players back to March.

Maybe on Memorial Day weekend.

Most people are already thinking football by August anyway.

Amen, except that Memorial Day is too close to the Open and would trash Jack's Muirfield event; but moving to May makes too much sense to overwhelm the political, commercial and practical points of disconnect between the PGA of America and the PGA Tour.  If it weren't so, I would advocate that the PGA be held at Sawgrass perpetually

Moving the PGA to mid-May would give it instant re-energy appeal, would bridge the cruel 2 month gap for fans between the Masters and US Open and because of the month, would open it up for a greater variety of geographic climate venues (I can't think of one place in the contiguous 48 where May isn't one of the finer months).

Move the damn TPC back to March in place of that almost completely anonymous Tampa tournament.

Yeah, maybe Memorial Day would be too close to the Memorial tournament. Actually, this week or next would probably work better. This is kind of a lull in the schedule.

For whatever reason, I cannot get excited about the Players anymore once it came after the Masters. I liked the TPC at the end of March because it fit the schedule and ended the Florida swing perfectly, and two weeks out, it provided a really great Masters appetizer.

[Morgan Clawson]

From a TV viewing perspective, I prefer the PGA over the British. The quality of the broadcast is much better, so it's more fun to watch.

[Carl Johnson]

Isn't the crux of the problem the identification or designation of "majors"?  Today's four so-called majors are a media creation, with no official sanction.  Don't we expect the PGA Championship to be more than it seems to be simply because the media calls it a "major"?  I accept it as a "major" for talking purposes, but for me it doesn't have the cachet of the Open Championship, the U.S. Open and the Masters.  So what?  It is what the PGA of America wants it to be, and so be it.  I've come to the point where I consider the U.S. Open and the Open Championship to be the two most important golf tournaments of the year, with the Open Championship usually being the more exciting (from my view as a spectator).  I also like the Masters because Augusta can provide for some exciting golf - and frankly, Jim Nantz notwithstanding, I like the low TV commercial to golf time ratio.

Thus, my personal fan majors are the Open and U.S. Open tied at (1), the Masters at (3) and after that, not much.  The PGA, the Tournament Players Championship and the Tour Championship bunch together after that.  Having said that, as others have suggested I think that going back to a match play format would make the PGA Championship more interesting, and different, and therefore more worthy as a "major."

[Carl Rogers]

My take is that it needs an identity of changing venues of very different kind of golf than the other three majors.  Some years -20 wins other years +4 wins.

Need a new World PGA for International venues,....  Royal Melbourne in January would be interesting.

The mixing and matching of formats seems confusing to the occasional golf fan.

[Sam Morrow]

The more I think about this the more I wonder, is there really anything wrong with the tournament? I don't think so, it's 4th in the major pecking order, that's still pretty damned special.

[Jud_T]

My take is that it needs an identity of changing venues of very different kind of golf than the other three majors.  

That's the other great thing about going back to Match Play that would help distinguish the event from also-ran status.  The powers that be don't have to get their panties in a bunch about protecting par which would bring in all kinds of interesting courses that aren't considered tough enough for a Medal play tournament.  Imagine having a Match play event at Old Mac or any other fun quirky course that wouldn't normally be considered?

[Rick Shefchik]

The PGA is not going to give up the revenue it generates in its current format, so the kind of courses we'd like to see are out, due to insufficient lodging and infrastructure. It could easily become a more interesting tournament, but it's hard to see how it could become more profitable.

[Jud_T]

Is the PGA's mission to maximize revenue from the event or promote the game and thereby promote their members?

[Matthew Petersen]

Is the PGA's mission to maximize revenue from the event or promote the game and thereby promote their members?

I don't think those are mutually exclusive. Revenue from their marquee event is what enables them to promote the game and their members throughout the rest of the year.

[Ronald Montesano]

My quote button doesn't work, so this will have to do...

"Is the PGA's mission to maximize revenue from the event or promote the game and thereby promote their members?"

The PGA championship does not define the PGA, just as the US Open does not define the USGA. They are vehicles to attract attention. but to think that the PGA's efforts to "promote the game...and members" are restricted to one, seven-day event is selling the organization way short.

The PGA championship is a cherry on the top of a large cupcake. It's a major championship and always should be, but it is the tip of the PGA iceberg.