Golf’s future under threat after Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson’s era as analysts raises glaring concerns
The era of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is practically over in golf. Those two, who dominated the sport in the late 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, are in the twilight of their careers. Mickelson is playing out his time on LIV Golf, while Woods can't seem to stay healthy enough to even compete in four Majors a year.
Their rivalry defined golf for so long, and they are both historic players. They've captured a combined 21 Majors and have 127 combined PGA Tour wins. Now that they're gone, one golf analyst worries about the future of the sport.
Sam "Riggs" Bozoinan believes those two were a matchup that sports leagues dream of.
"This is our Yankees-Dodgers year. Like, it happens in every single sport," Bozoinan said (38:00). "Yeah, sometimes you get the dream matchup. And then sometimes you get—I don’t know—the A’s versus whoever, and you’re like, 'Yeah, that was not a great World Series.'"
He said it happens in all sports, but it's different in golf since the golfers aren't localized and don't carry the same sort of fan base. Regardless, Woods and Mickelson defied that logic. Bozoinan thinks that if Matthieu Pavon wins a golf tournament, not many will be interested, and the ratings will plummet.
To hammer home the point, Bozoinan, Frankie Borrelli, and Trent Ryan said it was huge for golf that Rory McIlroy won the Masters Tournament. Everyone in every sports space was talking about that. Would they have done so if Justin Rose or someone else had won? The analysts aren't sure.
They took it a step further by saying the winners of today, like Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, grew up watching and wanting to be Woods or Mickelson. Now, the new era has to find those tentpoles to further the sport and make sure it doesn't die out or lose steam in the future.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson shout out Rory McIlroy for making history
Rory McIlroy joined Tiger Woods as one of six players to complete a career Grand Slam with his Masters victory earlier this month. It took him 11 years to do it, and Woods congratulated him.
He said on X:
"Welcome to the club Rory McIlroy. Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re a part of history. Proud of you!"
Phil Mickelson hasn't achieved this yet. Despite six Major titles, he's only won three of them. He still needs a US Open win to complete it, but he also congratulated McIlroy.
Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut in the Masters, said it was an "incredible tournament" and called McIlroy's feat "amazing."