A few weeks ago in Las Vegas, the LPGA Takefuji Classic concluded on a Saturday. It was a 54-hole event. Rather than the LPGA Tour compete against the PGA Tour on Sunday (and other sports), the Tour decided to be the only sport of significance on Saturday. Although the Takefuji did not set huge ratings records or have a high attendance, the idea to end some LPGA Tour events on Saturday is a good one.
The LPGA Tour has recognized that it cannot yet directly compete against the PGA Tour for television presence, attendance, or sponsorships. Instead, Ty Votaw has created separation for the LPGA by making the final round of selected events compete with the third round of various PGA Tour events. It is a gamble that is based upon the belief that golf fans would much prefer to see the final round of any event over the third round of a run-of-the-mill PGA Tour event.
For one, I agree with the move. The talent on the LPGA Tour is so deep now that it can compete with the big time in terms of full field quality of play and presenting a compelling final round every week. Aside from the overall depth of the LPGA, more LPGA superstars are in the field on a regular basis as compared to the PGA Tour. Although the LPGA's best might not qualify as common household sports names, their excellent play is enough to keep fans coming back for more. This is evidenced by the double-digit percentage hikes in attendance and television ratings, as well as the increased visibility of high-end sponsors for LPGA events.
Why not, then, try to stimulate more growth by exposing the Tour's best one day sooner than tradition? It seems like a perfectly viable strategy to me. The idea is so viable, in fact, that I think the PGA Tour should give it a try this fall.
It is a well-known fact in American sports you just cannot compete with the National Football League. Ratings for any sport, except baseball's playoffs, are killed when they are in direct competition with the NFL on Sundays from noon to midnight. And with the recent move of Sunday Night Football to network television, this trend is only to be further cemented. With this knowledge, why is the PGA Tour insisting on showing golf events that ends on Sunday that will surely go largely unwatched?
There is not much to stop the PGA Tour from having most fall finish events complete on a Saturday. There are no NFL games on Saturdays (usually). Although there is college football, it is highly regionalized and not nearly as popular as the NFL on television. By finishing on Saturday, the PGA Tour would put its best possible product on television against college football and late-season baseball. It has a much better chance to capture more viewers and market share if it does this.
As I have written before, higher ratings and more attendance translates into a cycle of good things for the Tour. Purses increase because sponsors want increased name exposure. Better players enter events that have higher payouts. This attracts more fans on the tube and live in person. It is a brilliant self-perpetuating cycle that could yield good results for the oft-struggling final fourth of the season.
There has been talk by PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem to reduce the season size and number of events into late-September for the upcoming television contract. While this would be my ultimate prescription (along with my King of the Links idea), it is highly unlikely that Finchem will be able to swallow the lost sponsorship money, severed ties with many golf communities, and strained relationships with lower-tier players.
So, then, if cutting the schedule short will not work, and there is no possible way for the PGA Tour to compete against the NFL without female nudity, my suggestion is a valid one. I'm not saying it's right, or absolute. I'm just saying.
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