Jordan Spieth’s watch as a PGA Tour policy board member ended Monday when Camilo Villegas replaced him on the PGA Tour Enterprises Board after becoming a player director on the policy board at the start of the season.
Spieth spoke Tuesday at PGA National ahead of his first career start at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches. He was asked for his thoughts on the future of the PGA Tour after Monday’s board meeting, but said he was only on for the start to get things sorted out with Villegas and then logged off.
However, the dodge didn’t last long as the three-time major winner voiced his thoughts on a few issues facing the future of the PGA Tour.
Spieth was asked about Rory McIlroy and others’ belief that the PGA Tour should have fewer tournaments going forward. He said the changes the PGA Tour has made have been “reactive and appropriately so,” while then trying to map out what he believes the goal is for the future structure of the Tour.
“I know they’re going through their process of future product model stuff, involving networks, involving fans, involving sponsors,” Spieth said. “Those are the three that need to be involved, as well as, obviously, finding the right situation for the players, being at the forefront of their mind. It’s just figuring out exactly what the best future product model is, and we’ll have to see what happens within future investments, what that means. Then everyone trying to — if the game comes together ideally, then you kind of figure out what is the actual market, what is the right number of events, what is the right number in the events, and whether it’s more elevated type events but more players, or it’s back to what it used to be.
“That, I don’t know, because I’ve taken myself out of those conversations. I think we’ll have a good gauge off of this year if this type of model works, and that doesn’t mean that adjusting it on certain field sizes and whatnot wouldn’t happen. It’s just off to a good start in general this year. A lot of that probably has to do with: one, we’ve had great champions so far, and then I think when you get bad weather everywhere, ratings go up, too. You’ve got great Florida Swing golf with drama-packed finishes, so it should continue these four weeks.”
Spieth said that he has spent a lot of time over the last year talking with PGA Tour players at all levels to gauge their reaction to changes and try to offer solutions to issues with the proposed changes.
“The idea is to try to get everything as fair as possible,” Spieth said, “while creating the most opportunities for the top guys to be playing the best golf courses and the best tournaments as often as possible together and having pathways to create stars coming up from Canada, Latin America, through the Korn Ferry, on to the PGA TOUR, being able to have [Ludvig Aberg] come up and immediately make an impact into the biggest events. Those kind of pathways are what the TOUR has always been about.
“So having a combination of the bunch, I think is what’s going into the future product model, and everyone ideally is being heard.”
Spieth reiterated several times that he is no longer involved in those conversations but did say he believes that changes to the format of the Tour Championship were among the things being discussed in Monday’s meeting after he logged off. The PGA Tour reportedly is looking into changing the Tour Championship from a stroke-play event to a match-play bracket.
“I think the idea is just to make the fan experience the best, make NBC, get them very involved in what they think is going to be the best option, and ideally, you end up having the most exciting Saturday-Sunday situation that’s easy to follow with the most drama you can have that goes all the way down to the last hole,” Spieth said. “We’ve had a couple different iterations of it. In the first iteration, I think the push-back was [they] didn’t want two different champions — it was confusing — on the same green. Then you go to the stroke format, and although easier to follow, I think the idea is the TOUR, the networks, and from polling fans, I think that they believe there’s a possibility of a better format, whether that involves any kind of head-to-head matches, it involves less guys on Sunday all playing for it. I think everything is pretty much on the table, and I’m not sure what they’ve narrowed it down to since.
“I think everything is pretty much on the table, and I’m not sure what they’ve narrowed it down to since.”
As one of golf’s biggest needle-movers, Spieth will still be peppered with questions about the future of golf and the chances for reunification.
But from now on, he — much like Rory McIlroy — will speak only for himself. As a three-time major champion and face of the sport. Not as a policy board member with an official role in shaping what comes next.
