So the ball’s on the tee for Tiger Woods now.
And Phil Mickelson.
And Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth.
If the fledgling, still mysterious Premier Golf League can’t counter Rory McIlroy’s eloquently reasoned rejection with news that it has recruited at least one of these mega stars, we can plant a tombstone on the upstart’s proposal.
The league is as impotent as it is faceless without at least one of these guys initiating a mass defection by committing as eloquently as McIlroy did in rejecting the renegade plan Wednesday in Mexico.
The “who” behind this grandiose plan has always mattered more than the “what,” even with the league’s ideas outlined as compellingly as they have been by a leadership group that won’t step out of the shadows to take ownership of their proposal.
The unwillingness of the backers to show themselves with their idea already so public is more than curious. Is the PGA Tour right? Is there mostly Saudi money behind this?
We can only assume the PGL’s leadership is waiting to step out with one of these aforementioned mega stars as their pitch man. They’re waiting to sign a defector and make him the face of the league. Or, much more likely, they’re waiting to step out behind a group of PGA Tour defectors. That may mean one of these aforementioned mega stars is already rigorously recruiting the others.
Woods, Mickelson, Koepka, Thomas, Johnson and Spieth don’t just have the pedigree and power to counter McIlroy’s logic; they’ve got the credibility.
Together, they’ve got the power to turn the PGL into something special while sacking the PGA Tour.
So, we’re all waiting.
Who’s going to bet they’re not on the wrong side of history, as McIlroy so powerfully articulated the real gamble in this proposal? Who’s going to be the face of the rebellion? Who’s going to skipper this new ship? Or go down with it?