TThe second series of Full Swing has its moments. The problem is that anyone looking for in-depth insight into the civil war/kiss and make-up/civil war status of elite golf will be frustrated by the latest Netflix documentary release. While it’s easy to blame manufacturers for this, we shouldn’t forget that the golf world is terribly confused. It’s not that people choose not to speak with certainty, they just find that they can’t.
Spectators are missing the proper details about how and why exactly the PGA Tour signed a framework agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Dustin Johnson’s wife Paulina Gretzky says how much more time their family has together after the former Masters champion’s jump to LIV, but other key players who were castigated for the same move – Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson – do not that. appear on camera to express their feelings as a dramatic 2023 unfolded. This felt like a missed opportunity. Jon Rahm, who joined LIV late this year, is a notable absentee. This also applies to Tiger Woods. The fact that the best female golfers in the world are not present in a Solheim Cup year will inevitably raise eyebrows.
USA Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson somehow manages to make a memorable argument between Rory McIlroy and caddy Joe LaCava sound boring. “What happened, happened,” he says. Earlier footage shows Shane Lowry calling LaCava a “fucking dick” as tensions rose in Rome. Johnson looked like a shaking wreck as he returned to the team hotel after a nail-biting opening day.
There are lighter moments. The best of them is Justin Thomas toasting Mito Pereira at the American PGA champions dinner. “Without him this wouldn’t happen,” he says. Pereira led by a shot as he reached the final hole of the 2022 tournament before capitulating. Thomas won in a play-off.
McIlroy, like so many others on the PGA Tour, saves the day by offering time and access. His candor about the PIF deal is one thing, but what is more striking is the extent of the depression after major championships. The Northern Irishman admits he played like “dog shit” while missing the cut at the Masters. At the American PGA he cuts a sad figure after falling short again. A “lost” McIlroy says he felt at the time his game needed a “complete restart”.
He is also despondent in Los Angeles after Wyndham Clark lost the US Open. “Sooner or later we’re going to get one of these things,” McIlroy says, slamming a water bottle on the ground, about the wait for a fifth major dating back to 2014. All of this is a reminder that McIlroy cares deeply about his professional activities.
McIlroy remains absolutely essential, not only to a documentary series, but to the PGA Tour as a crowd pleaser. By the time the Cognizant Classic drew to a close on Monday – the result of yet another weather delay – no one but dedicated golf followers could particularly care. Television ratings will strongly emphasize this. The Phoenix Open was marred by unruly crowd behavior. Woods’ highly anticipated appearance at the Genesis Invitational was cut short by illness; there’s still no guarantee the 15-time major winner will return at the Players Championship next week.
There, as at this week’s $20 million Arnold Palmer Invitational, Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka are absent. The Arnold Palmer is a signature event, a limited field tournament designed in part to retain players while LIV floats. Tony Finau’s withdrawal from Bay Hill leaves 69 in the draw and the ridiculous scenario of Nick Dunlap alone in charge of Thursday’s proceedings.
Golf seems no closer to finding a route to all its best players regularly competing on the same stage; which undermines the product for sponsors and paying customers. Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and Adrian Meronk were the last golfers to accept LIV’s lucrative advances, but there’s no chance they’ll be the last. As Saudi Arabia continues to fund the rebels’ tour, players will increasingly be moved off the PGA Tour. The drain of talent, at any rate, has caused serious problems.
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It’s not all bad news. An ownership conglomerate, including Fenway Sports, saw enough in the PGA Tour to invest $1.5 billion in a new commercial entity. The huge participation in golf in times of Covid means there is an interested audience for everyone who can fathom it.
The human side of this company, which has lost its way financially, can be seen in Full Swing. There is the story of golfing brothers Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick. Joel Dahmen’s struggle and Rickie Fowler’s return after years in the wilderness will resonate. Keegan Bradley is devastated not to have received a wildcard into the Ryder Cup, as is Zach Johnson’s young son after Europe’s triumph. It’s not just about Dustin Johnson on his boat or Koepka admitting the deal that brought him to LIV was worth nine figures.
Next week, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is expected to deliver his annual State of the Nation address at Sawgrass. He’s been in battle mode, and with varying degrees of success or failure, ever since LIV went from concept to reality. This time it must be honestly admitted that this broken game is of little use. If the PGA Tour wants to establish itself as the pinnacle of this sport, it needs the best players on cast lists. The uncertainty that runs through Full Swing inadvertently encapsulates golf.