George White

Golf with George
January 24th, 2008

George has been a journalist for close to 40 years. He wrote sports for the Houston Chronicle for 19 years and the Orlando Sentinel for 7 years. In 1994 he was one of the first people hired at the Golf Channel, were he started a career as an on-air talent, then moved over as one of the first writers of Golf Central and then their website. White retired from the Golf Channel after 12 years at the end of 2006. He will be writing a column for GolfObserver.

- GolfObserver editors

Is there "real golf" without Tiger & Phil

I guess this is what the PGA Tour has come to. If T. Eldrick Woods isn’t playing, if P. Alfred Mickelson isn’t playing, we mentally consign the tournaments to Nationwide Tour status. And I’m not just saying YOU do it - I am right there with you.

Photo: © J. Rogash/Getty Images Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

Three tournaments have been played this year, did anyone know that? One was a supposed biggie - the Mercedes-Benz Championship. They stayed in Hawaii to contest the Sony Open, but we scarcely noticed since the girl you love to hate, Michelle Wie, wasn’t there. And then there was the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, that curious little four-course event somewhere out West - hmmm, yes, in the Palm Springs area. Both the Sony and the Hope have illustrious histories, but the fact is that Tiger didn’t play in them. Neither did Phil, so the three tournaments were as forgotten as yesterday’s lunch.

I’ll be the first to admit it - I had to look up the three winners. I’m a member of the casual golfing public, retired from the golf-writing business. But the three are - are you ready? - Daniel Chopra (Mercedes), K.J. Choi (Sony) and D.J. Trahan (Bob Hope.)

Not exactly Nicklaus, Palmer and Trevino, is it? It’s a scary situation when the major news of the 2008 golf season occurs when a television announcer absent-mindedly utters a few ill-chosen words. But that is where we’re at as Phil and Tiger decide to join us at the Buick - hmmm, just a moment now while I look up whether it is “Open” or “Invitational” - oh yes, Buick Invitational.

This certainly is meant as no disrespect to Chopra, Choi and Trahan. Each defeated every golfer who showed up at their particular event, an admirable feat indeed. Any of this trio may one day advance to Tiger-Mickelson status - well, not likely Tiger, but maybe Mickelson. But for the moment, early in the year 2008, Chopra, Choi and Trahan sounds like Jones, Smith and Brown. Predictably, that trio has failed to set tongues wagging on the golfing front.

Which brings us to Mickelson and Woods. One, Mickelson, plays a reduced schedule in order to spend more time being a daddy to the three kiddies - and that’s more than understandable if you can manage it. The other, Woods, plays at an absolute minimum for several reasons, nearly all of which are equally as admirable. You can’t blame them for the predicament that the tour is in - they are playing by the rules presented to them, and they are doing it totally and above-board. The fault is with the brainpower of the PGA Tour - they’ve made the 15-event requirement, they have declared that their members are “independent contractors,” and they refuse to set up any kind of rotation whereby each tournament would have this dynamic duo appear every few years.

So, what to do now? There really isn’t an answer. Tiger is going to play the four majors, the Players, three of the World Championships, probably three FedEx Cup events, and four or five events that he has cherry-picked from the tour schedule. You know the tournaments already - this one at San Diego, probably Arnold Palmer’s tournament, probably Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, the tournament which supports his charity (AT&T National), and a couple of others. And Mickelson? His appearances, rest assured, will be equally rare.

But there’s a crises that is quickly developing. The Chopras, the Chois and the Trahans are all winning more often now. Woods and Mickelson only play approximately 15-16 tournaments a year, so that leaves approximately 30 tournaments “Tiger-less.” No one has stepped up the last couple of years to fill that void. Vijay Singh? Jim Furyk? Nope. Would you believe that one Steve Stricker is now the world No. 3 in the World Ranking?

Chopra, Choi and Trahan are doing all they possibly can to win golf tournaments, as, I’m sure, is Steve Stricker. Meanwhile, these tournaments are suffering almost to the tipping point, slogging along without Woods and Mickelson. What will happen? Less interest, less attention to golf and more senseless side issues - and certainly less Tiger and Phil.

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