It’s no big secret that many pros on the big tours despise the traditional Wednesday pre-tournament pro-ams. They would rather practice alone with their caddies or with their colleagues, work out at the gym or relax at the hotel with their families.
The journalist Geoff Shackelford recently published on his website a quote from the Open champion British 1973, Tom Weiskopf, who summed up this attitude as follows: “The professionals of the Tours would rather submit to an IRS (U.S. Internal Revenue Service) inspection than play a pro-am. Publicly they say they love meeting interesting people and how great pro-ams are. In truth, they loathe them. They’re on for six hours, watch countless bad beats and listen to the same old jokes.” Of course, at the same time there are many players who enjoy, or at least placidly tolerate, the opportunity to play a more informal round of golf with amateur partners who could, for example, become friends or even providers of a lucrative future in the form of sponsorship.
Aware of these conflicting views among players, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan had been looking for an alternative to improve the overall experience and found it in an alternative format, called “nine and nine,” in which one professional plays the first nine holes and a second professional plays the second nine.
“Wednesday is something about our sport that no other sport has, and we want to continue to do everything we can to make it the best experience we can, so I think this is just one step,” Monahan said.
Already in practice on the U.S. Women’s LPGA Tour. Tour, and is used in unofficial tournaments such as the PNC Father-Son Challenge. This format was tested on the PGA Tour last year at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, and now it has been formally introduced this week at Waste Management. Phoenix Open.
In any case, it is something optional, so some players such as Xander Schauffele, Charley Hoffman and two-time defending champion Hideki Matsuyama decided to play all 18 holes, but one of those who were happy for to take advantage of the new format was Phil Mickelson. After leaving the ninth green, he walked to the tenth tee and shook hands with Brand Snedeker, who took over the second nine.
“I think it’s a win for the amateurs,” Mickelson said, “because they get an experience from two pros, and it’s a win for the pros because they have more time to prepare for the tournament.” No mincing words.
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