With the new year upon us, time to dream up some fun scenarios for the 2024 PGA Tour season. Some may be wishful thinking but I will happily settle for a handful.
I want to see Patrick Cantlay get a new hat deal – how about one of those giant hats – and for Will Zalatoris to figure out his short putting issues as well as Lucas Glover did this year. I want to see Tiger play more than just hit-n-giggle golf in December and avoid sending out a press release about another surgery. I want to see Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas back in the winner’s circle.
I want to see top pros support the smaller events – don’t just play the $20 million signature tournaments fellas – because as Sam Saunders put it, there are no bad tournaments. They’re all great and the people in the Quad Cities and San Antonio have been showing up year after year for 50+, 100+ years and deserve to see quality fields.
I want to see someone like Chesson Hadley take advantage of the dome-like conditions in Palm Desert, California, and shoot 57 at the American Express. How cool would it be to go up to Al Geiberger and Jim Furyk and introduce yourself as Mr. 57?
I want to see the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am have some juice again. It had become Exhibit A for a tournament that was losing its stars other than Jordan Spieth, who is paid by the title sponsor to be there. I’m excited to see a reinvigorated field at one of the cathedrals of golf. I’ll take a star-studded field at Pebble over Ray Romano and Bill Murray every day.
I want to see an ace at 16 at the WM Phoenix Open during the day and Duran Duran, who is performing in February at the Bird’s Nest, at night. “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Rio” and “Girls on Film?” Count me in.
I want to see the winner of the Genesis Invitational shake Tiger’s hand at the trophy ceremony and be eligible to defend his title in 2025. The last two winners have been Joaquin Niemann and Jon Rahm, who both bolted to LIV before the next tourney. Actually, the coolest too-good-to-be-true Hollywood would reject the script scenario would be Tiger winning at Riviera, his kryptonite and the course and tournament he’s played the most without winning, to claim his 83rd title and break a tie with Sam Snead for all-time career wins on Tour. The Internet would explode.
I want to see Rickie Fowler, who happily signs autographs like Arnold Palmer once did, slip into the King’s alpaca red sweater awarded to the champion of Palmer’s tournament in Orlando.
On the occasion of the 50th Players, I want to see the winner dive into the lake at 18 at TPC Sawgrass like Jerry Pate did in 1982. That should be the men’s version of Poppy’s Pond.
I want to see Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the final group on Sunday at the Masters. It wouldn’t suck if Tiger and Scottie Scheffler were in the next group and they were all tied for the lead as they hit the back nine.
My colleague Beth Ann Nichols said she’d like to see more co-ed teams at the Grant Thornton Invitational. I second that but I’m going to go one step further: let’s make the Zurich Classic of New Orleans an official co-ed team event. The team format breathed new life into this event but let’s go next level and get the women involved.
I don’t care if it is an existing tournament switching things up or a brand new one but the PGA Tour needs to bring back a match-play tournament ASAP. Not a good look for the Tour letting Austin fall off the calendar.
I want to see a first-time major winner at the PGA: Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau are about due but I like Viktor Hovland to break through next.
I want to see Billy Horschel win the Memorial and go from first to worst back to first. That’s how you stamp that you’re back.
It doesn’t get much better than the U.S. Open being at Pinehurst No. 2. That’s the major I’m most looking forward to attending in ‘24. It’s Disney for golf geeks there. Here’s hoping Martin Kaymer, who a reader reminded me has one year left on his 10-year exemption for winning there at No. 2 in 2014, can re-find some of his magic from a decade ago, and some Cinderella story fills the Jason Gore role as the new Prince of Pinehurst.
I want to see Daniel Berger return from injury and win the Travelers Championship. Still can’t believe Jordan Spieth holed that bunker shot to beat him in a playoff. Or that it happened back in 2017.
I want to see the wind blow again on Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open and this time native son Bobby Mac, who got pipped by Rory this year, win his national open.
I want to see Tommy Fleetwood win a PGA Tour title so I can stop writing that he hasn’t and he should go big or go home and win the British at Troon. Then we can start asking him if he’s ever going to win in the U.S.
I want to see some drama with gold medals on the line in Paris. Ooh la la, can you imagine how the Norwegian announcers will lose their minds if Viktor Hovland were to sink a winning putt at 18 at Le Golf National?
I want to see an amateur win on Tour for the first time since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Rocket Mortgage Classic, 3M Open or Barracuda Championship feel ripe for the taking by the likes of Gordon Sargent or Nick Dunlap.
I want to see a down-and-out pro, who barely broke 80 all season capture some last-minute magic and win the Wyndham Championship and qualify for the FedEx Cup like Jim Herman before him and Lucas Glover did in August.
And for the ultimate rags to riches story, I want to see a “mule” win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup for the everyman.
Royal Montreal needs to be the site of an International Team victory. I want to see Nick Taylor, one year after becoming the first Canuck to win the RBC Canadian Open in forever, win the clinching point of the Presidents Cup in Montreal…and for Adam Hadwin to get leveled again by security while trying to celebrate with him.
But most of all, I want to see the best players compete against each other more often. If that doesn’t work out, let’s hope that powers-that-be at least can agree on a PGA Tour-LIV Ryder Cup-style competition. Here’s to a 2024 where the only drama is on the course and not off it.