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View From The Fairway - Rory, Tiger, Morikawa and the Prize Pots Get Bigger

By: | Mon 29 Nov 2021


Golfshake's Derek Clements shares his latest View From The Fairway this weekend focusing on coverage across social media of Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy, the drive shown by Collin Morikawa and the staggering prizes funds now being played for on the global tours.


ANYBODY who doubts how much Rory McIlroy cares about golf would do well to check out the images posted online after his disappointing finish to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The Northern Irishman appeared to be on his way to winning the European Tour’s season-ending tournament until suffering some outrageous misfortune on the 14th hole, when his approach hit the flag, finished in a greenside bunker and cost him a bogey.

He then finished his round in disappointing style and after coming off the final green took out his frustrations on his his golf shirt, ripping it to shreds.  I, for one, see it as a good sign for the months that lie ahead. McIlroy is clearly desperate to get back to the top of the world rankings.

 

 


DID you see the video Tiger Wood posted online last week? It was nothing special, but it showed the 15-time major champion hitting a short iron. It was the first time he has been seen hitting a golf shot since suffering career-threatening leg injuries in a car crash back in February.And within an hour of him posting it, the video had been watched by more than 1.5 million people, all of whom are desperate to see him back out there competing.

He may never win a golf tournament but it was oh so good to find evidence of him finally being able to do what he does best again. Fingers crossed that we will see him competing in a 72-hole event before very much longer.

 

 


WHAT a difference a week makes. After winning the DP Tour World Championship and the Race to Dubai, Collin Morikawa made it clear that he now has world No1 Jon Rahm in his sights. Given everything that Morikawa has achieved to date, it is hard to believe that he has been a tour pro for barely two-and-a-half years.

In that time he has won two majors, a WGC championship, topped the European Tour’s oder of merit and played a key role in helping America to regain the Ryder Cup. He has also proved himself to be one of the best iron players the sport has ever seen. Oh, and he is also a genuinely nice young man. Would you bet against him overtaking Rahm? I wouldn’t.


SPEAKING of Morikawa, I see that he has entered the Abu Dhabi Championship and Dubai Desert Classic. There was some criticism of the American winning the Race to Dubai despite barely setting foot outside America in 2021. He has clearly taken that on board and is already thinking about making a successful defence of the Race to Dubai. The more he travels and experiences different cultures and playing conditions, the better he will become - and that has to be an ominous prospect for his rivals.

Related Article: What's In The Bag - Collin Morikawa


IF MONEY really does make the world go around then the place to be in 2022 is the PGA Tour. Its commissioner, Jay Monahan, has just announced some mind-boggling increases in prize money.

For starters, the average tournament purse increases from $8m to $9.1m, while The Players Championship has increased its prize fund to $20m, making it the richest tournament in world golf, with the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament all having $12m to play for.

The first two FedExCup Playoffs - the FedEx St. Jude Championship and BMW Championship - will see their purses increase by more than $5m to $15m, while the top 30 players competing at the season-ending Tour Championship will now play for a first prize of $18m.

With massive understatement, Monahan said: "The PGA Tour is stronger than at any time in our history, and the game of golf has unprecedented momentum. We are positioned to grow faster in the next 10 years than we have at any point in our existence, and we remain laser-focused on strengthening our core product and investing in our members.”

Other increases include a $15m rise in the FedExCup bonus to $75m, while the Player Impact Programme - compensating the 10 biggest needle-movers with the best "Impact Score" - will pay out $50m, an increase of $10m over its inaugural year.

The numbers are staggering especially when you also consider that the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) will see prize money more than double to $140m.  And that is without taking into account the telephone numbers that will be played for in the Saudi Golf League.


OFFICIALLY, the European Tour no longer exists. The Joburg Open marked the start of the newly-branded DP World Tour, a veritable extravaganza featuring a minimum of 47 tournaments worldwide. But just try doing an internet search for “DP World Tour”. Where will it take you? Erm, to europeantour.com - it seems that the powers-that-be haven’t quite caught up with all the latest developments just yet. In this day and age, you would have expected such an incredibly well-organised operation to have established a whole new-look website to coincide with the start of the new season. Watch this space.


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What do you think? post your thoughts and feedback on the Golfshake Forum: https://forum.golfshake.com/


Tags: PGA Tour dp world tour daily picks



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