Players Championship at Sawgrass: PGA Tour event to show golf is not broken

Golf super league supporters argue the sport is «in desperate need of change».

That was the phrase used by Phil Mickelson in his recent and infamous statement of apology, one that did not say sorry to the PGA Tour but did make clear a desire to revolutionise the game.

Smaller fields, a reduction to 54 holes and a team concept with no cuts on a Formula 1-style global circuit, it is argued, is the way to go, especially when wealthy backers such as Saudi Arabia can put up millions of dollars in guaranteed money.

The disrupters claim 72-hole strokeplay, the staple of all the main tours, has had its day. It is, they say, too slow, boring and outdated for the modern sporting market.

But the status quo is nowhere near as broken as suggested. The best players enjoy fantastic wealth, earning it by climbing to the top of a pyramid founded on sporting legitimacy.

And the evidence of the past few weeks adds to the notion that settling golf tournaments over four rounds, in fact, remains the best way to showcase the sport.

The trend will surely continue this week at the Players Championship, the biggest event outside the four majors of the men's game.

The Players has a rich history and, the way things are going, even richer participants. This week they are playing for a record $20m purse.

There has been rapid inflation with the prize money comfortably out-sizing what is on offer at any of the majors. This is less to do with the threat of a breakaway and more about extra money generated by the PGA Tour's most recent television deals.

Media companies expect returns on such investment. So it is a pretty safe bet that broadcasters remain happy with 72 holes strokeplay.

Next Sunday the largest slice of the spoils — $3.6m — will likely go into the