There is so, so much to discuss.
Here are 18 Parting Thoughts from the 2024 Players Championship.
Scottie Scheffler, man.
This is the best run of play weve seen since…take your pick.
It might be better than all those stretches because it’s lasted longer.
For the first part of this year watching Scheffler was a bit of a frustrating experience.
His putting struggles somewhat overshadowed his tee-to-green greatness, and there was an air of negativity undergirding it all.
If only he could hole those putts.
What would it look like if he started putting well?
These last two weeks have shown us.
Scheffler kept himself in this tournament with his finish on Saturday.
His neck, which was an issue all week, was having a visible impact on his game.
His ball speed was down and he couldnt hit draws.
He is an overwhelming favorite in any tournament he plays right now.
2.Wyndham Clark is the best player Ive seen from the rough since Tiger Woods.
Of course, speed is advantageous in all areas of golf, and especially so with the driver.
But sheer strength plays a major role out of the rough.
Look at this shot he hit on Thursday.
And this, from the first hole on Saturday.
The purists are probably cringing right now.
I get it; Clarks game isnt the most artful youve ever seen.
Hes one dimensional off the tee.
Mashes it nine miles and then deals with it from there.
He can be borderline brutish at times.Bomb-and-gougecomes to mind.
You have to respect the effort, even if it’s not your favorite game to watch.
He really, really hung in there on Sunday without his best stuff.
Then he striped two shots and narrowly missed an eagle putt.
Then he hit the best shot of the day on 17 to four feet.
3.I cant speak highly enough about the on-site experience at the Players Championship.
TPC venues are an easy target for their modern architecture, ever-present water hazards and perfectly manicured maintenance style.
Fans, even kids, can see easily even if theyre not in the first row.
There are bathrooms and concessions stands everywhere.
That includes the other three major championships.
4.The broadcast was excellent.
It showed noticeably more golf shots than what we see most weeks on the PGA Tour.
It had an uptempo pace that stopped just short of frenetic.
It featured tons of players, not just those in featured groups.
Perhaps most crucially, it had minimal commercials.
It really isnt all that complicated.
This PGA Tour Enterprises deal is an opportunity to rethink fundamental aspects of the golf viewership experience.
6.The second season of Full Swing painted a pretty bleak picture of Joel Dahmen.
It wasnt a friendly comparison for Joel.
While Wyndham was meditating and writing down his manifestations, Joel was at the bar.
Joels made strides since.
Hes rededicated himself to his game and has been practicing as hard as ever.
Hes heeded his teams advice.
As he discussed during our recent Side Gig YouTube video, he cares far more than people might think.
The last thing he wants is to be famous and playing shitty golf.
Thats not a fun feeling.
And it came against the strongest field he played against as hes not into the signature events this year.
Big time stuff from Joel and Geno.
I kept finding myself thinking about Lucas Glovers question for Jay Monahan.
THE signature event, Glover told Gulfweeds Adam Schupak.
Its very mind-blowing that our biggest signature event has the most players and the biggest cut.
I couldnt agree more.
A full field is part of what makes tournaments feel big and important.
Its fun to see shots from a bunch of different guys on Thursday and Friday.
Even the guys shooting a million provide some context and entertainment value, particularly if theyre in DGAF mode.
The contrast between the superstars and the guys just trying to make the weekend is a crucial element.
The PGA Tour made the right decision in creating these signature events and pumping huge money into them.
That alone wouldve guaranteed the top players going to battle more often.
They didnt need to chop down the fields as much as they did.
There were only 69 players at Bay Hill and only 70 at Riviera.
Thats far too few.
It doesnt seem like fans problems with golf tournaments are that there are too many players.
As a general rule, the more professional golfers we get to watch, the better.
It doesnt take anything away from a tournament to have some of the rank-and-file guys in the mix.
It adds to it.
I genuinely believe Riviera and Bay Hill were better tournaments at 120 players than they were at 70 players.
8.I love Live From so much.
So, so much.
It is the absolute nerdiest of golf nerdom.
Hours and hours ever day, for a week straight, of golf-obsessed people obsessing over golf.
They wax poetic about a guys golf swing.
They go into full detail dissecting a rules situation as if it were a nuclear negotiation.
Its just the best.
We were treated to maybe the most Live From moment in Live From history on Thursday night.
It pertained to the rules conversation between Rory McIlroy and his playing partners, Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland.
The details of that dispute arent so important.
Its straight out of an SNL skit.
Like, how deep inside golf do you have to be to understand whats even going on here?
You have to be a certified golf nerdthe target demo for Live From.
Were here, and were proud.
I eat it up every time its on.
9.One more thing on that rules imbroglio: the Tour deserves credit for posting it to their social channels.
They never wouldve done that five years ago.
But the modern fan demands authenticity.
We want to see it, warts and all.
The Tour has finally learned this.
That video got 3 million views on X alone.
10.I think Im coming around on the rollback issue?
But I can absolutely see the argument for at least limiting how far the elite professionals hitting it.
Its not just the driver speeds that keep creeping up and up.
They didnt need the distance.
Schauffele played first and ripped a tight draw at 179 mph ball speed.
From there, another iron from 247 to 5 feet.
This isnt to take anything away from Clark, whos obviously one of the longer players on tour.
Not everyone, obviously, is able to hit those two shots.
But Id argue that those two shots shouldnt be possible with irons.
This week had perfect scoring conditions and players took mega-advantage.
It was a birdie fest.
The course, without Mother Natures help, just wasnt long enough to offer its intended challenge.
Courses shouldnt have to count on factors outside their control for be difficult.
11.Jay Monahan used to work at Fenway Sports Group.
Per his Wikipedia page, it was in a sales role.
Im not sure enoughs been made of that fact.
It helps explain how hes kept his job despite all the backlash over his handling of the LIV ordeal.
But he has the support of the board of PGA Tour Enterprises.
Can you guess which sports conglomerate is well represented on that board?
He also has the support of Rory McIlroy, who pleaded for a wider-ranging view when assessing Monahans tenure.
You look at what Jay has done since he took over, McIlroy said Wednesday.
The media rights deal, navigating us through COVID, the strategic alliance with the DP World Tour.
But Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele arent sold yet.
So I don’t mind people making mistakes.
We all make mistakes.
Wait…that wasnt an answer.
Its hard to imagine him retaining his position if a deal with the PIF goes through.
The guy has nine lives.
12.Speaking of that deal.
That was Monahans message in his state-of-the-tour presser on Tuesday.
13.Remember when slow play qualified as a big story in pro golf?
Hardly anyone has enough energy to care.
The past few years have been rather taxing.
14.Rickie Fowler doesnt get angry.
He really doesnt show much emotion at all, positive or negative.
At least not on the golf course.
Which made his reaction on the 16th tee on Saturday so jarring.
We all have our breaking points.
Thats not to compare their careers.
Obviously McIlroy has four majors, Allens yet to play in a Super Bowl.
Its that both are impossibly talented and, when theyre on, make the game look so darn easy.
Theyre blessed with the raw tools and their top gear leaves almost all their competitors behind.
The problem is that both struggle to stay out of their own way.
Allens Achilles heel are his turnovers.
Another water ball, another double bogey on Friday.
There were five balls in the water total for the week, which more than offset his 26 birdies.
It goes down as a T19 finish, but that doesn’t tell half the story.
His good remains good enough, but his bad has been backbreaking thus far this year.
The good news: another Players Championship wouldnt have done much for Rorys legacy.
Hell have to find a way to limit those mistakes.
16.Matt Fitzpatricks got some splaining to do.
But for the most famously meticulous person in world golf?
Who has charted every single shot hes hit since he was 15 years old?
Who leaves no stone unturned in search of a 1% advantage?
How on earth do you make that mistake?
You could tell he was fuming at himself for making the mistake.
We were just very confused swing-wise, did all sorts.
I could hit it as hard as I want and it wouldn’t go left.
Previously, I felt like I hit it hard and it would just go straight left.
As for whether the mistake resulted in any jobs being lost?
Absolutely not, no.
It’s just as much my fault as everyone else, so no chance.
Having known Matt for as long as I have I simply cannot believe he made that error.
He thinks more about his golf game than anyone thinks about anything.
How that never popped into his mind when he was tinkering with his driver swing is legitimately amazing.
NBC’s gone with a rotating cast of characters since Paul Azinger’s contract wasn’t renewed.
Paul McGinley got a shot.
So did Luke Donald.
But it’s Kisner who’s shined brightest in that spot.
He’s likely going to be offered the full-time role.
He’s got a helluva choice to make.
18.That was the show golf had been waiting for.
Augusta can’t come soon enough.
