Those who need to have a star-studded leaderboard to take an interest in matters on the PGA Tour will have been disappointed by the closing stages at the Cognizant Classic, with Jordan Spieth amongst those who left themselves with too much to do on Sunday at PGA National.
Of those who finished in the top five at the Cognizant Classic, just two players started the week inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings.
There were some big names in the field. Jordan Spieth produced arguably his most impressive performance since returning from injury – with the expectation being that PGA National would be a poor fit for Spieth.
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee and Rickie Fowler all finished inside the top 20. But it is hard to imagine that there was anything like the interest down the stretch on Sunday that there will be later this week when the next signature event comes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Brad Faxon admits disappointment following the Cognizant Classic
Nine of the world’s top 10 are set to tee it up at Bay Hill, with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele the headline names. But with that, Brad Faxon has expressed some frustration with some of those on tour.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Faxon suggested that those who live in Florida should have definitely taken the opportunity to play in the Cognizant Classic, regardless of the fact that it was not a signature event.
“The thing I don’t understand is being able to stay home the week the tournament is in your back yard and not go to the golf course. I lived in Orlando for the first 10 years of my career and we had Arnold’s tournament and we had the tournament Disney. I was like I am playing in these things whether I like the course or not,” he said.
“I would be playing golf most likely myself, and when you are down here and see the boat loads of players that live in this area. Jack Nicklaus is arguably the greatest golfer ever, he and Barbara are kind of the chairs. The money goes to the Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. I believe in giving back and I believe that is a way of giving back. Maybe not for yourself but to not want to play for Jack and Barbara, support your community, the hospital. A lot of these players have kids, or are going to have kids here. It’s kind of a black mark a little bit, it’s disappointing.
“I know everybody has a schedule, they look at purse stuff and how many tournaments in a row they can or cannot play. You have the signature events that follow this back to back. Part of me as a former player understands you want to be at your best at every event. But at the same time, skip the Monday and Tuesday, play nine holes in the pro-am and play Thursday and Friday and see how it goes.”
Faxon’s comments highlight the big problem the PGA Tour has created for itself
Certainly, Faxon’s complaints highlight the problem the PGA Tour has had since LIV Golf came about. Introducing the signature events elevated some tournaments to a level where they could easily have a major championship feel if things fall into place over the week.
However, the downside is that the other events miss out on a lot of love. Unless a player has a relationship with a sponsor, they seem extremely reluctant to play outside of the signature events and the majors.
That is obviously not the case for everyone. But it is rare to see the world’s best players now feature at an event on the level of the Cognizant Classic.
Over time, this will inevitably lead to the field getting weaker and weaker as the divide between those who are in the signature events and those who are not gets wider and wider.
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