The PGA Tour has released a highlight reel ahead of the Players Championship marked “40 swings for 40 years at TPC Sawgrass”. The video itself shows, on face value, what looks to be the past champions teeing off on the famed par-three 17th, from 1982 right to way through to 2021. Upon closer inspection…. Something is missing.
The video fails to credit the 1994 victory of Greg Norman and instead opted to post the swing of rival, Nick Faldo. Similarly, the video includes Vijay Singh in favour of Phil Mickelson, who was victorious in 2007.
The PGA Tour, Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson have had somewhat of a turbulent relationship in recent months. Norman, CEO of LIV Golf Investments, the organisation backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has rumoured to have been attempting to poach the leading stars of the game for a ‘Super League.’ It initially appealed to the likes of Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau and posed a headache for Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson. Johnson and DeChambeau however, have since publicly pledged their allegiance to the PGA Tour.
Phil Mickelson appeared to be the one leading the charge from the inside, initially calling the PGA Tour out for “obnoxious greed” over its stance on player image rights. An excerpt from an upcoming biography revealed that Lefty admitted that he was using the rumoured Saudi-backed Super League as leverage against the PGA Tour. He has since issued a public apology for those comments.
Whilst the PGA Tour and Commissioner Jay Monahan have remained consistent and firm in their stance, in that anyone who wishes to take part will face a lifetime ban, Norman fired a warning by saying: “It’s just the beginning”. A report this week has revealed that the rumoured Super League are accelerating their plans ahead of a launch in the summer.
Now back to the video. Was this an innocent mistake or an intentional dig, who can truly tell?
The video included Johnny Miller in 1984 instead of winner, Fred Couples, but did include him for his second victory in 1996. It was a similar story for Steve Elkington, who featured in the 1991 era but Ernie Els featured in his place in 1997.
Tom Watson appeared in 1990 instead of winner, Jodie Mudd, with Payne Stewart featuring in 1995 ahead of Lee Janzen. Dustin Johnson featured in 2017 ahead of winner, Kim Si-Woo.
Watch the video yourself:
4️⃣0️⃣ swings for 4️⃣0️⃣ years @TPCSawgrass. pic.twitter.com/RLu6mj9w3ZMarch 9, 2022
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