Golf is at a crossroads. Fans are disengaging from the professional game, turned off by the schism and the gobs of money and the constant commercials on broadcasts that have to pay for it all. The game itself has become a little tedious, with modern technology and agronomy making it harder to distinguish the artisans from the technicians.
The 2025 season has already started with Scottie Scheffler on the sidelines because of a freak hand injury, Hideki Matsuyama cruising to victory by making birdie or better on more than half the holes (37) in a 72-hole event and one of Europe’s promising young stars (Tom McKibbin) rumored to be punting his newly acquired PGA Tour card to join LIV Golf instead.
That’s a lot to take in just one week into the new year. So instead of attempting the annual fool’s errand of trying to predict what will happen in 2025, here’s a take on what should happen in the new golf year:
The Big Story – a deal! At long last, whatever pettiness exists that’s holding back compromise subsides and allows a working agreement to be struck between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund. Any PIF investment deal to peaceful coexistence should allow options for regular tour events to invite a limited number of LIV guys on special sponsor exemptions in 2026 and let PGA Tour players field guest teams in late-season LIV events.
Real PGA vs. LIV showdown: The biggest benefit of a deal for PGA Tour Enterprises would be creation of some kind of Ryder Cup-ish style event pitting the players from the former rival factions against each other. Maybe Tiger vs. Phil as inaugural captains in 2026, but they’d get no captain’s picks because the teams would be based entirely on merit with the winning side earning $2 million per player and losers getting “only” $500,000. Conclude it the Saturday of the Army-Navy football game and let Fox, which should become the new host network for LIV, televise it.
Major standards overhaul: The Masters offered special international invites this week to Joaquin Niemann and Nicolai Højgaard, both worthy choices. Niemann earned his second straight invite by winning the PIF Saudi International, topping the International Series rankings and finishing a close second to Jon Rahm on LIV last season. Højgaard contended as a Masters rookie last year and will now get to join his twin brother, Rasmus, in the field. Instead of having to offer band-aid remedies like this, all four majors should update exemption standards to automatically invite the leading player at season’s end on the PGA, DP World, LIV, Asian and Japan tours and avoid the petty politics that might exclude worthy players. And the Players needs to go back to inviting all top-100 players, regardless of tour.
LIV joins OWGR: With Trevor Immelman taking over as the new chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking in April, it’s a good time for LIV to be reasonable and negotiate terms for being accepted into the ranking system effective 2026. All it would take is a little more creativity in player access, with true relegation, maybe 10 spots offered for promotion instead of one and perhaps Monday qualifying to create one four-man “wild-card” team every event.
Rory glory at last: The obvious sentimental story for 2025 is McIlroy finally slipping his arms into a green jacket and completing the career slam. But shy of that dream scenario coming to fruition, at least a victory in any major – we’re looking at you PGA at Quail Hollow or his home Open at Royal Portrush – would end the cruel narrative of the Northern Irishman’s decade-plus major drought.
Career slam-o-rama: If it’s not McIlroy’s time at Augusta, the top alternative would be Xander Schauffele. The X-man could then head to Oakmont with a whirlwind career-slam chance. If Scheffler could collect a couple majors outside the Masters and Jon Rahm (PGA or Open), Collin Morikawa (Masters or U.S. Open) or Brooks Koepka (Masters or Open) can pick off a new major trophy, ensuing seasons could provide an epic race with McIlroy and Jordan Spieth all chasing a place in golf’s most exclusive fraternity. (Sorry Phil, your window is shut.)
Monthly doses of Tiger: We’re probably never going to see Tiger Woods play 10 times a year until he gets to start using carts in 2026 on the senior circuit. But it would be nice if the $10 million PIP recipient could be healthy enough to get into a monthly rhythm and play Torrey Pines, Riviera, Bay Hill and/or Players, Masters, PGA, U.S. Open, British Open and maybe an Irish Open or Dunhill Links in the fall before finishing the year at the Hero and PNC. If he still dreams of breaking his tie with Sam Snead, he needs reps.
Slow-play crackdown: It was refreshing to see rookie Jacob Skov Olesen hit with a slow-play penalty in his very first DP World Tour start at the Australian PGA. That punitive spirit needs to spread across every level of the game and across all genders to rid golf of the scourge. Here’s hoping the TGL’s 40-second shot clock inspires the notion that players need to pick up the pace or else. Penalty strokes and disqualification are the only things that can change habits because undisclosed fines aren’t the answer. To stop them gaming the system, players need to be officially timed on every shot, warned once when they exceed 40 seconds and then start accumulating strokes and DQs. If PGA and LPGA tour pros can’t come close to finishing a three-ball in under four-and-a-half hours with perfect playing conditions and spotters to find their balls in the rough, what hope do the rest of us have at the local club?
Tour Championship reimagined: The Athletic first reported that the PGA Tour is considering changing the format of the FedEx Cup season finale, turning away from the unpopular starting-strokes system in favor of some kind of bracketed conclusion. It’s past due to try something new to spice up the finish. Here’s an idea. Play 54 holes of stroke play and crown a Tour Championship winner on Friday. Then have six players compete in weekend match-play bracket for the FedEx Cup title. The season-long points leader and Tour Championship winner get byes into the semifinals, and the other four players are seeded in the quarters based on cumulative season-long points. Losers play off against each other to determine order of the top six, providing three Sunday afternoon matches for fans at East Lake to follow and TV to cover.
Ryder Cup giveback: Team USA and the PGA of America are already off on the wrong foot after announcing $500,000 payments to players and $750 tickets for fans at Bethpage Black. Hopefully all of that money will go to charities instead of the players’ already bloated bank accounts. One of those charities should be young fans who can’t afford to see one of golf’s premier events at a famously affordable municipal course. Take $100,000 from each player stipend and give 1,600 tickets (400 a day) to regional First Tee and junior program participants – $500 for entry plus $250 voucher for merchandise.
Aussie outreach: The PGA Tour’s myopic worldview when it comes to calendar building has long been a blunder Down Under, alienating fans on the far side of the world who have embraced LIV like no place else. Simple fix. Add the Australian Open as a co-sanctioned finish to the FedEx Fall schedule. Invest in a $15 million purse to lure a few marquee guys, expand the field to accommodate 270 players on two courses before the cut and cap the year in style at an historically significant event that brings multiple tours together and builds global goodwill.
If the bulk of these things can happen, it would not only heal the rift in the game but the rift with golf’s fans.