Say the name Las Vegas and the following comes to mind—glitz, glamour, nonstop action on a myriad of pulsating levels.
This week’s dull golf fest called the “Showdown at Shadow Creek” was the complete flipside to the veritable pizzazz for which Sin City is world-renowned.
The golf extravaganza was billed as the battle between the PGA Tour and LIV and featured world-ranked No. 1 Scottie Scheffler teaming up with 3rd-ranked Rory McIlroy representing the PGA Tour.
On the other side representing LIV Golf was U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau partnering with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
Star power, no doubt.
But through the course of this agonizing event, the amount of scintillating verbal byplay—when the on-person microphones were actually working—was beyond disappointing.
The character played by Tom Hanks in the movie “Castaway” had a more engaging dialogue with his volleyball named Wilson.
Much of the blame goes to the organizers.
Choosing Vegas was a fine idea, given the city’s aforementioned billing on the sports front.
However, doing it outdoors in December—a week from Christmas—and then having the telecast start live at 3 p.m. local time, meant the bulk of the golf would be played without sunshine.
Yes, heavy-duty lights were provided, but the difficulty was quickly apparent as even the best players in the world were clearly struggling to ascertain the line of play and what club choices to use.
Following the ball, once hit, proved difficult for camera crews. The players then had to deal with awkward shadows when getting ready to play. And the speed of the greens clearly changed from when play started to when the final holes were played.
Candidly, having the needed lighting to come close to what happens in actual daylight is not a wise investment, given the enormity of the task.
Then there was the weather. Las Vegas gets cold during winter months—especially when nightfall arrives.
Temperatures for the event were in the low 60s but started to drop noticeably as darkness enveloped the course.
It’s not a good visual when you see close-ups of Scheffler and McIlroy placing their hands near the heated air blowing from the cart they shared together.
It was also amusing seeing DeChambeau with a large-size puffer jacket right from the beginning. The coat looked like what the denizens of Lambeau Field wear when watching the Green Bay Packers play. Not the kind of optics organizers and those promoting Las Vegas had in mind.
The totality of quality golf was limited to a few shots of note. Much of that can be blamed on organizers, who aligned the start of the event with fleeting daylight.
The best of the day came when McIlroy nailed a fairway metal at the par-5 4th and then proceeded to drain the 35-foot putt for an eagle.
Scheffler and McIlroy vanquished Koepka and DeChambeau in all three segments, and the gap between the two teams was apparent.
Watching Kopeka and DeChambeau attempt to hack misplayed tee shots at the final hole was comical, given the reality most golf hackers encounter when playing golf.
What made Vegas initially appealing was seeing how pro golf has evolved in recent times.
The elite-level landscape was fractured when LIV Golf came onto the scene in 2022. Numerous former PGA Tour players opted to bolt for the deep-pocketed Saudi-financed effort with gobs of money funneled via the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Initially, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan took the most punitive of stances, stating that any Tour member leaving would forever be banished.
That tough tone melted when Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, had a lovefest television appearance on CNBC and later signed a framework agreement setting in motion a merger of the two groups.
An initial deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, was announced but has since been pushed beyond that date with both sides still negotiating.
The opportunities to see the best players in the sport competing against one another have now dwindled to just the four major championships. Hence the event’s appeal.
The Vegas show also undercut the starring role of Shadow Creek.
The 18-hole 350-acre layout was the brainchild of casino mogul Steve Wynn and he hired the renowned architect Tom Fazio to create a bigger-than-life course from the barren desert floor and transform it into the oasis that exists now.
Wynn spent roughly $60 million for his 1989 playground which included the planting of 20,000 trees and an elaborate underground watering system. He has since moved on with ownership now under the banner of MGM Resorts International.
Beyond the issues of darkness, the format cut short seeing the full 18 holes. Mention was made of the final two holes—a beautiful short par-3 over water and a risk/reward par-5 closer—but neither showed up on the telecast. A pity.
Then there was the announcing crew. The primary broadcast was by TNT and the analysts included David Feherty, who regularly does LIV Golf, and Trevor Immelman for CBS-Sports who handles PGA Tour events.
Play-by-play duties fell to Brian Anderson when original host Ernie Johnson was a late scratch because of an emerging family matter.
Johnson’s cohort from his regular NBA duties at the network, Charles Barkley joined the group and feebly attempted to add something remotely called humor to the broadcast.
It was clear early on his comments were akin to the same insightful gems lobbed from the deep left field seats at Yankee Stadium. Memo to Barkley—what works well with his gig on the NBA is not doing similarly with professional golf.
The overall tortoise-like pacing of the actual event meant numerous times announcers had to fill voids of airspace. The resulting hodge-podge were empty fast one-liners looking to grab attention given the dearth of real golf action of note happening at Shadow Creek.
Made-for-television events require the right people and circumstances. For such events to make sense the need for a tour de force headliner is essential.
When Tiger Woods had a serious golf game to show his presence moved the needle similar to when Frank Sinatra showed up at The Strip during his heyday.
The same can be said when the original “Skins Game” was first broadcast in 1983 starring the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Tom Watson.
In that foursome of players, you had a collective total of 42 majors.
Matters were helped in that particular case given the Thanksgiving timeline the Scottsdale, Ariz., location, and the unquestioned star power of the participants.
As a counterpoint, the group that gathered at Shadow Creek has just 13 majors to date.
Yes, there were winners. Scheffler and McIlroy—each pocketing $5 million in crypto-based coin “CRO.”
What’s amusing is that if there’s enough money to be collected—you could have the next made-for-television event hosted in Antarctica and someone would be eager to tee off there.
Going forward it will be interesting to see what future made-for-television golf events take place.
Coming soon will be the venture by Woods and McIlroy via TMRW Sports and carried through Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL). Will watching pro golfers hit golf balls into simulators move the needle?
Golf remains a niche sport and the need for ways to bring the game alive for those for those who have neither watched nor had a desire to play remains a vexing bridge to cross.
It can be entertaining to play but watching the game remains a tough task—save for the connoisseurs fanatical about the sport.
The gathering at Shadow Creek had all the gift wrapping but when peeled away no gift of note worth celebrating.
Organizers rolled the dice and the event produced snake eyes.
Sorry guys—that’s never a winning roll. Better luck next time.
