Jan 24, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Collin Morikawa watches his shot on the tenth hole during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Municipal Golf Course - South Course. Mandatory Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports Credit: Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
By Ben Axelrod on

As the world of golf remains in flux, the PGA Tour has finalized a $3 billion investment from the Fenway Sports-fronted Strategic Sports Group to launch something called “PGA Tour Enterprises.”

While details of the deal and what it means for the PGA Tour and its potential partnership with LIV Golf remain sparse, one of the tour’s most prominent golfers is most concerned about how it will affect the TV product.

Speaking to reporters at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Tuesday, Collin Morikawa was asked about the new influx of money coming into the tour. Noting that the PGA already has plenty of money, the two-time major winner expressed particular interest in the tour improving its reach via television.

“There’s a bunch of guys that made over $10 million on the course last year and a lot of guys that made over $5 million on the course. Like that’s a lot of money,” Morikawa said of the investment via Golf Digest. “The way sports are going right now, they’re on the uphill, they’re on the climb, right? Football’s obviously the biggest. I think at the end of the day if we keep getting more eyeballs on golf, and that’s the biggest hurdle that we have to accomplish, how do we get more eyeballs on golf? I would hope to expect that more money’s pushed into this.

“We need to make more people more interested in golf. We need to make golf more intriguing to the viewers. How do we make broadcasting more approachable? How do we see more golf shots at the end of the day, right?”

Morikawa wasn’t complaining for the sake of complaining. He also offered specific (and correct) critiques of the PGA’s current television product.

“I turn on golf on a Thursday if I play early and I turn it on and I see three golf shots, and I question why,” Morikawa said. “The reason why other sports are –people pay attention is because people see more, you can probably bet more. People like betting when you can watch it live, not watch it on ShotTracer.”It would be tough to disagree with Morikawa’s assessment, and based on the reaction to his comments, many share his concerns. By this point, many — if not most — sports fans know the feeling of getting excited about a big golf tournament, only to spend most of the first and second rounds following the event via internet updates.

Whether the new investment can help fix these issues remains to be seen. But if nothing else, we know at least one person on the PGA Tour who seems to fully grasp why it’s essential for the tour to make itself as available as possible on television.

[GolfDigest]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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