Tour News

Jason Sobel’s tweet suggests storm of PGA criticism brewing

Published

10 years ago

Jul 30, 2016

Weather has disrupted 18 events on the PGA Tour this season, and it has now had a significant impact on three of the four major championships.

Also a trend this season: Questioning and criticism of tournament organizers/golf’s governing bodies.

If you tuned in to watch the third round of the PGA Championship from Baltusrol (and were treated to highlights of last year’s tournament), you already know afternoon play was washed out, and the final six groups never got on the course.

And if this tweet from ESPN’s Jason Sobel is any indication—questioning of the PGA of America and their failure to move to a split-tee start in light of the afternoon forecast—is percolating as well.

Sobel, correctly noting that hindsight is 20/20, offered this counterfactual, suggesting how the split-tee start could have gone.

Of course, such a start and a third round that wrapped in the early afternoon would have necessitated that great horror of sports viewing: tape-delayed coverage, which adversely affects viewership. And it’s likely something the PGA of America was looking to avoid at all costs.

Tough call. But if play is stop-start due to weather tomorrow and the finish from Baltusrol is pushed to Monday, Sobel’s voice will likely be part of a large chorus.

*featured photo via Martin Kaymer on Twitter

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Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

4 Comments

KK

Jul 31, 2016 at 12:54 pm

Big whup if it’s a Monday or even Tuesday finish. This is the final major of the year. Players have nothing else to do until the FedEx Cup finals.

Reply Report comment
CT

Jul 31, 2016 at 9:49 am

Thanks Sobel

Reply Report comment
Tim

Jul 30, 2016 at 8:56 pm

It is all about the MONEY…TV and the commercials pay the big money….as with most professional sports the actual playing of the game is only to benefit the sponsors chance to sell their products. You see it first hand when the courses at Pro tournaments could all be set up to make par a good score for the best of pros…but do you think club and ball companies would stand for pros having wining scores 4 and 5 under every week….no way that Pro V1 has to be bring in a 15 to 20 or more winner…and the M 1 driver better be finding a fairway 330 yards off the tee… and the public, sure they allow for the a couple tough tournaments (U S Open) but would they pay money and watch each week if the number one player in the world was winning with a score only 4 or 5 under each week…….Money it is all about the Money

Reply Report comment
- Fl
  
  Jul 31, 2016 at 11:58 am
  
  Yes it’s TV money, the advertisers are the sponsors, so the practicality of moving up the tee times and getting the day finished wasn’t an option for them when millions of advertising dollars would have had to have been shifted around and the lawyers would have had a field day making OT on the already astronomical money they make. At the same time, without the TV, the game would not be where it is today as big as it is now. But the truth is, the game could be played without all the money and TV, it has enough, it could just go on like it had been before TV coverage came along, but nobody will admit to that in any major sport that is covered this way on TV.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.