5 Things to Look for on the PGA Tour in 2019

As the PGA Tour winds down the silly season (yes who could forget the PPV match of the century with two aging superstars, a par fest, and a championship belt that didn’t fit the champion), the 2019 PGA Tour season begins in earnest in just a few weeks in Hawaii at the Tournament of Champions.  So what can golf fans expect to see this year?  There are so many storylines to look forward to, but here are the 5 that we are most excited about.  

No. 15?  

Tiger Woods has been stuck at 14 major championships since his thrilling win at the 2008 US Open.  It’s been over 10 years since the most dominant golfer of a generation has captured major championship gold.  Many questioned whether Woods would ever compete on the PGA Tour again.  Woods answered those questions by capturing the season finale Tour Championship and a second place finish in the FedEx Cup.  

Now the questions is whether Woods will inch closer to Jack Nicklaus’ storied career major championship wins of 18.  Many would like to see Woods capture another championship in the         State of Georgia to compliment that Tour Championship.  The US Open will be held at Pebble Beach and the PGA Championship (now contested in May) will be held at Bethpage Black - both venues where Woods has captured major golf championships in the past.  If the old “horses for courses” adage holds up, then Woods could be in great shape to capture his 15th major golf championship.  

The New Young Guns

Much of the chatter this fall has been the emerging crop of young players.  Cameron Champ, who won the Sanderson Falls Championship, has garnered the most focus from golf media outlets.  Champ is one of those young players that golf experts expect to see step up in 2019 and compete in tournaments and major championships.  

The Tour is already stocked with a young group of superstar players including Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.  Who is going to join that list?  

The Old Young Guns 

With so much young talent beginning to contend regularly on the PGA Tour, it’s easy to forget that players like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have yet to enter their primes.  Rickie Fowler just turned 30 within the last month.   2018 was not a banner year for these stars.  Sure there were a few wins sprinkled in, but at this stage in their careers, they are going to be measured by majors and tournaments with more grandeur (WGC, FedEx Cup playoff events, etc.)  

Both Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth enter the 2019 season with chances to win the career Grand Slam.  McIlroy has a game that was MADE for Augusta National, particularly with that high draw off the tee that travels a mile.  He’ll have to exercise those back 9 demons and find consistency with the putter to capture a green jacket.  

Meanwhile, Spieth will look to capture his first PGA Championship when it moves to its new slot in May.  The Wanamaker Trophy will be awarded at Bethpage Black in New York.  Spieth lost a bit of his magical putting touch in 2018.  If he can find it again, he should be a contender at the second major of the year.  

Rule Changes

A number of new rule changes are going into effect this year.  Players no longer have to drop from their shoulders, the pin can remain in the cup while players putt, are just a couple of the new rules that are intended to help move the pace of play and bring the game up to the 21st century.  

We aren’t sure that the rules are going to have much of a difference in the professional game - perhaps outside of Bryon DeChambeau who will be measuring bariatric pressure to decide if his ball will benefit from hitting the flag stick while he putts.  The new rules should help to improve the pace of play at your local muni (assuming of course that most players even adhered to the old ones in the first place), but there are still plenty of rules that the USGA needs to look at adjusting before considering this overhaul Mission Accomplished.

The President’s Cup

When talking heads discuss international competitions, 99% of the discussion focuses on the United States effort and results in the Ryder Cup.  And while the American effort in Paris was poor and worthy of criticism, this year’s international team event is in even more trouble.  

The President’s Cup, a PGA Tour property, is a bi-annual contest between the United States and the “rest of the world” excluding Europe.  To say that the International Team has struggled in this competition would be an exaggerated understatement.  The US has won the previous 7 matches.  In the 26 years that the competition has been held, the International Team has only won once.  

The PGA Tour wants to put the President’s Cup on the same level of the Ryder Cup.  The reality is that it’s not.  It is not organic like the Ryder Cup.  And perhaps more than anything, the lack of competition over the years has forced the Tour to find new and creative ways to generate interest.  That is the only explanation for the appointment of Tiger Woods as the captain.  

Yes, Tiger deserves to be captain.  But make no mistake about it - he is leapfrogging other worthy candidates in order to generate interest in the event.  The strong likelihood that he will be a playing captain only adds to the intrigue.  But for the President’s Cup to truly advance as appointment viewing, the International Team needs to begin winning.  

Photo Credits

Tiger Woods - CNBC.com 

Cameron Champ - PGATour.com 

Rory McIlroy - Golf.com 

President's Cup logo - OhioGolfJournal.com