Weekend Wrap - Five-peat Edition

Quite the dilemma for the golf viewer yesterday, Scottie or Nelly?  I settled the battle of the diminutives in Nellie's favor, as the ladies at least had the sense to get their weather issues out of the way on Saturday....

Seriously, is either of them ever going to lose?

Nelly, Ascendant - This is the Nelly they've been promising us, admittedly derailed by some non-golf issues, including that untimely and scary blood clot.

It's all good now, though what are we to do about this event?

Nelly Korda's record-setting run reaches next level, collecting fifth consecutive victory and second major title

With a leap and a splash, Nelly Korda cemented one of the great runs in LPGA history. After winning the Chevron Championship Sunday with a final-round 69, she continued the tradition of

jumping into the pond next to Carlton Woods’ 18th green. Korda’s two-stroke victory over Maja Stark makes her one of three in LPGA history to win five-straight starts, joining Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05).

"It's an amazing feeling because all the hard work and the doubt that I had in my head from 2021," said Korda, who shot 13-under-par 275 total. "I worked through it, and it's been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here. It's just been an amazing time.

Shack has a nice post up at his Quad in which he covers the dark clouds engulfing this reconfigured major, thank you very much, Mr. Ridley./  First, about that weather:

A rain delay situation was inevitable when Chevron decided to move to The Woodlands, Texas from Rancho Mirage. The old Dinah Shore was played for 51 years without a single thunderstorm delay.

That's just an aside in the midst of trashing NBC/Golf Channel, to which we'll return in a sec.  The other broadside was on pace-of-play, of which there was none.  The girl had no easy morning:

Sheesh. Nelly Korda had to grind to earn this one.

The wonderous woman deserves extra Hall of Fame points after the 2024 Chevron Championship put the resounding World No. 1 through a bit of everything.

Granted, finishing off a major is not supposed to be fun, easy or simple. With a historic fifth-straight-win and second career major on the line, her Sunday was already infused with way more pressure than any other player faced.

Korda’s day started with a 4 a.m. Sunday morning wake-up call to complete the delayed third round that soaked Carlton Woods with 1.5 inches of rain.

Crisp morning air greeted Korda early Sunday, never a fun thing for a player who has overcome well-chronicled injuries.

Yeah, ordinary course of business stuff for the kids.  This?  Not so much:

Then, finishing the morning restart having lost her lead and trailing Haeran Ryu by a stroke, Korda opened the final round with a 3-under-par 33 yet still had to fend off a few persistent chasers battling to the last and eagle-friendly last hole.

And most unnecessary of all? One of the game’s fastest players endured a ridiculous six-hour-and-five-minute final round pace.

Who's to blame?  I'm going to go with everyone.... But while approximately no one watches women's golf, you're pretty much guaranteed of losing those dozen viewers if all these see is Nelly munching on a sandwich in the fairway.

Shall we check in with the Tour Confidential gang?  Ummm, that was rhetorical....

1. Nelly Korda did it again, winning the Chevron Championship to claim not only her second major title, but tie the LPGA record with her fifth straight victory. What has most impressed you about her run over the past couple of months, and what’s a realistic number of wins Korda can get to this season?

Dylan Dethier: What most impressed me? Jeez. I guess the variety. Different courses, different regions, even different formats. The match play win sent her to a different stratosphere. And

different pressures! We’ve seen plenty of golfers get crowned and then wither. Nelly has done the opposite.

James Colgan: Lots of options, but perhaps the fact that Nelly was able to extend the streak at a major championship, even feeling all the pressure that came with entering the week on four-straight wins. That shows serious mettle, and not the kind many in the sport are blessed with. That she was able to do so while being the fastest player in the field by a long shot? Well, that was just gravy.

Zephyr Melton: It’s been impressive to watch her mental resolve during this run. In previous seasons, she likely would’ve let a couple of these get away when things didn’t go her way. But the Nelly of 2024 is just different. She’s got the mental game now to go with her sweet swing, and that should be very concerning for the rest of her competitors. As for how many she can win this year, let’s go with eight.

As someone said a week ago about that other Numero Uno, you're not supposed to win when you're supposed to win.

What I fond most interesting were her final four holes, after she had chipped in to build a four shot lead.  She wasn't impervious to that "Holy crap, I'm gonna win this thing" moment, but she was able to steady herself and those last two approach shots were a purity master class.

2. Before the tournament, defending Chevron champ Lilia Vu called Korda “kind of our Caitlin Clark,” adding, “she is bringing so much to the table — just win after win, just having it, having everything together. She’s done such a good job. So well-liked and loved out here. She brings a big following. She’s a great person.” Due to her success, is there more pressure on Korda to bring more eyeballs to the game, and should she feel obligated to do so? Or is there more pressure on the LPGA to take advantage of her run?

Dethier: Yeah, sure, there’s pressure on her to expand the LPGA’s footprint. But her primary job is to stay atop the game. To keep winning. Everything else depends on that. So I think the pressure to capitalize on Korda’s run falls on everyone else whose job it is to make these events feel big big.

Colgan: It’s Nelly’s job to be a voice and ambassador for the LPGA and the advancements the organization plainly needs to make — but she’s been doing that for quite some time now. She’s not responsible for making the broadcasts more compelling or the pace of play faster than (checks watch) six hours. Those are the things keeping the LPGA from having their Caitlin Clark moment.

Melton: There is certainly more pressure, but that’s part of the deal when you ascend to superstar status. And if she keeps winning, it’ll be in everyone’s best interest that she does her very best to elevate women’s golf as a whole. The Tour can do their best to capitalize, but unless Nelly is fully bought in, it won’t work.

If you read my post previewing this event, you'll know that the Caitlin Clark analogy isn't a bad one, but the harder issue is to identify the LPGA's Angel Reese.  In this current moment, there is no other woman golfer with any presence.  For instance, apparently this production line is struggling as well:

Is the South Korean golf boom over on the LPGA Tour?

Except for waiting on Rose Zhang, who else is there?  The aforementioned Lilia Vu is the second-ranked player in the world, and none of us could pick her out of a police lineup.

As promised, here's Geoff's rant about TV windows, echoing themes you've heard here repeatedly:

How low has NBC set its golf broadcasting bar?

Amidst the slog of a final day it felt miraculous that the once-gold standard of golf coverage even bothered to show a major final round championship past the allotted time. The schedule (above) called for signing off at 6 p.m. and covering what was left of the Chevron Championship on Golf Channel. This sad schtick of years past was previously caused by Olympic trials, other obligations, affiliate pressures or contractually committing to doing the bare minimum.

There were two caveats to Sunday’s “miracle” of covering a major sporting event to its conclusion. First, there were no Olympic trials to get to and only infomercials on the West Coast to show. (Sorry Jane Seymour skin care-secret fans. There’s always next week.)

And two, the Comcast-owned mess passed on covering Sunday morning’s third round restart. This, despite having the World No. 1 in quest of a fifth-straight win and second major. But at least this guilted network into sticking with the conclusion later in the day and well past the scheduled time.

This was an obsession of Mike Whan, and I just never understood it.  I get that network coverage is preferable, all other things being equal, except for the niggling detail that all things aren't equal.  There's something to be said for your audience knowing where to find you, especially when the size of that audience isn't sufficient to make the networks give you an appropriate coverage window.  And, needless to say, if the girls are taking 6:05 minutes to play, a three-hour window allows for five holes of coverage (OK, I exaggerate, but just a little).

But if you can't get to the finish line during NBC's window, what are you accomplishing?  When they make that jump you're molting viewers and making it a bit of a clown show.

Nelly should be bring eyeballs to screens, but look what they find when they get there.  Dreary weather, dismal Nicklaus architecture and endless waits between shots....  

Scottie, Deferred - It's an event that I like because of the golf courses, but I like it far more as a low-key post Masters family week.  It's just wrong as a Signature Event Money Grab, only because of where it is on the calendar.

But this guy can have a 36-hole Masters letdown and still lap the field:

Scottie Scheffler will have to wait until Monday to add another colorful jacket to his closet and

become the first reigning Masters champion to win the RBC Heritage the following week since Bernhard Langer in 1985.

One week after Scheffler slipped into the famed Green Jacket awarded to the Masters champ for the second time in three years, only Mother Nature could delay the 27-year-old Texan from winning the Heritage’s trademark Tartan Jacket on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Inclement weather suspended play for more than two hours, preventing the completion of play before darkness. Play will resume on Monday at 8 a.m. ET.

“I’ll treat tomorrow like I’m playing 18 holes and do all my normal prep work and come out here ready to go for the restart,” Scheffler said.

Scheffler was 4-under through 15 holes in the final round and 20-under overall when play was suspended due to darkness, and five shots ahead of Wyndham Clark (65) and Patrick Cantlay (who is just off the 18th green playing his third shot) in his bid to win for the second straight week and for the fourth time in his last five starts. JT Poston (thru 17) and Sahith Theegala (thru 15) are also tied for second.

Not even a golf course you'd pick as suiting his game, but he's the best player by a lot on a massive heater, so what can get in the way?

Don’t worry, Scottie Scheffler is going to be humbled soon.

The dad ‘bed’ in the delivery room doesn’t care if you have 2 green jackets or have earned over $15 million in 4 months, it takes no prisoners. pic.twitter.com/HkG2uXXHZr

— Mark Harris (@itismarkharris) April 21, 2024

So, you're saying there's a chance?

3. Just one week removed from his second Masters win, Scottie Scheffler is closing in on his fourth PGA Tour victory of the season, as he’s got a five-shot lead with three holes to play at the RBC Heritage, which will resume at 8 a.m. ET on Monday. Win or lose this week in Hilton Head, he’s continued to prove he’s on another level. When he’s at his best, is it better than anyone’s “best” since peak Tiger Woods? Or have some of his accomplishments been diminished since some top players left for LIV Golf?

Dethier: I know that everything is politics now and everything is divisive and kinda stinks as a result, but I’d love for us to keep Scottie’s current run outside that framework. That doesn’t mean

I want everyone to root for him — that would be really boring — but for at least a few days, I want to just stand back and admire the outrageous run he’s on without worrying about TV ratings, LIV rumors or what this means for the product. Anyway, he’s been really good.

Colgan: Comparison is the thief of joy. Rory had a great peak. Jordan Spieth had a great peak. Brooks had a nice stretch there. But what Scottie’s doing now — and the unbotheredness with which he’s doing it — is, well, joyful. And if he keeps this up, in a few more months, there may not be room for debate.

Melton: Yes he absolutely is. And the LIV argument would hold a little more weight if Scheffler hadn’t just dusted their top talent at the Masters last weekend. I don’t care who lines up against Scheffler these days, he’s probably going to beat them.

Forget LIV, the bigger issue is that, to placate Cantlay, Scottie had to beat seventy fewer players this week.

To this observer, the biggest PGA Tour story is that, having cleared to rubble for the Cantlays and McIlroys of the world, they haven't shown up.  The former is T2 before the tee off this morning, so they have continued to make bank, without the need to play very well.  Somehow, in their convoluted minds, that's supposed to appeal to viewers.  Instead, they're molting viewers....

What's It All About, Alfie? - Shall we try to explain to them how this works?

What do disappointing Masters final-round TV ratings actually mean?

 Just spitballin' here, but I think it means that fewer people tuned in....

Just to clear, it wasn't just the Sergio dead-enders that were crushed when he missed the cut.  They lost quite a few viewers:

CBS’s latest report showed that 9.59 million average viewers tuned in to Scottie Scheffler’s Sunday triumph. That qualifies as … well less than 10 million. And even if out-of-home viewing data was down, it doesn’t account for a drop of nearly 2.5 million viewers from Jon Rahm’s 2023 victory.

It's amusing to hear the guys whistling past the graveyard:

"I am surprised by that, to be fair," said Matt Fitzpatrick, the defending champion at Harbour Town. "Obviously you've got everyone playing together, like everyone wants, and the viewership's down. But, yeah, it's bizarre. I think, for me, speaking to people at home and stuff, people are fed up with hearing about the money. I think that's the biggest thing."

"See, I just find it really hard to believe that ratings are down," said Wyndham Clark, sounding a note of disagreement. "I think people that I do know that are watching it loved it. I think golf is growing. I think golf sales have grown. I know golf memberships are growing. It makes no sense at the professional level that the viewership would be down. In my thoughts, is it because everyone is streaming and people are watching it from different avenues than maybe the normal telecast? I think that's a little bit of a skewed stat."

Do we think Wyndham has ever heard of Pauline Kael? 

At least the author acknowledges reality, however begrudgingly:

Caveats aside, it’s hard to see the ratings as anything but bad news. Even if streaming is up, the TV deals with CBS and NBC are a major source of revenue for the tour (and for the majors), and infinitely more valuable than anything they get from streaming or social. If those networks can't sell as many ads, then the tour’s hopes of getting more than the $700 million deal it signed through 2030 when the next deal is being negotiated will be particularly challenging. In other words, considering the ultimate payoff, a hit to the actual terrestrial ratings is a big deal that is not offset financially by gains in other sectors. Sources tell Golf Digest that there's real concern at NBC/Golf Channel about declining ratings, and that CBS executives was extremely disappointed in its Masters numbers, particularly as the network broadcast weekend coverage of tour events for the next 12 weeks.

As you can tell by the layers of disclaimers that pile up each time you try to discuss ratings, it's extremely hard to quantify how "tired" fans have become of the PGA Toutr-LIV hamster wheel, or whether viewers are truly abandoning professional golf in droves (if they are, they're not going to LIV, whose ratings remain anemic). It passes the smell test, but the dozens of caveats that come with interpreting ratings end up introducing a kind of paralyzing effect when it comes to reaching any conclusions; the more you know, the more complicated it becomes. What's not complicated, though, is that numbers are down in relevant ways, and that’s happening during a time of unprecedented growth in recreation golf spurred on by the pandemic.

For five years we've been hearing that such-and-such was changed or ruined by Covid, when it really was ruined by our insane reaction to Covid, quite a different thing.

In this case they're blaming LIV, when it's more their money-grubbing opportunism that's ruining the Tour.  Put simply, the elite players think they are the product, when it should be the game itself that is on offer.  When you reorganize your events to present the dour, humorless Patrick Cantlay as the face of the tour, don't be surprised when the public has better things to do.  Sometimes, the food is so bad that the dogs just won't eat it...

The TC panel had thoughts:

4. The Masters’ TV ratings fell significantly in 2024, with CBS reporting 9.59 million average viewers — nearly 2.5 million less than last year — tuned in to watch Scheffler’s victory. Sunday, notably, was down around 20 percent, which is about the same trend the PGA Tour has seen this season. (For more on this, check out and subscribe to GOLF’s Hot Mic newsletter.) Should we be concerned about the ratings? And what’s to blame? PGA Tour-LIV Golf fatigue? Scheffler’s surgical play and even-keeled demeanor? Something else?

Colgan: Yes, we should be concerned. The reasons for it are varied, but the reality is pretty bleak: People are turning away from watching professional golf, and they’re not turning away from other professional sports. The folks who run the golf business can come up with 100 reasons behind that reality, but the simplest answer seems to be that after golf’s stakeholders spent three years telling fans they didn’t matter, a chunk of those fans actually listened!

Melton: The ratings drop seems to be in line with what we’ve seen across golf since the PGA-LIV spat began. Casual fans just don’t seem to be interested in watching a niche sport with so much infighting. Combine that with a Sunday afternoon when the result was all but decided (and with Tiger in the mix), and you have a recipe for some poor ratings.

Dethier: I guess we in the industry should be concerned. And golfers who get paid based on golf’s popularity should be concerned. But I resent the idea that being a golf fan means caring about TV ratings in such a granular way. Watch it if you like it!

Zephyr, in what sense was the Masters outcome all but decided?  You had those final two groups bunched and some bold print names lurking further back, not to mention Scottie hitting it all over the yard early in the day.

I have no clue what Dylan is going for.  Yeah, I get that the professional game is not golf, but it's still hard to see the Tour destroy itself.  The best stories in golf this year have been at the non-signature events, and that should tell them something useful..  But it won't.

I'll wrap things here and try to deal with the rest of the news cycle tomorrow.  Have a great week.