As PGA Tour viewership rebounds, pace of play is an issue to tackle

The WM Phoenix Open is glittering proof that you can grow the game of golf. And it’s my hope that the PGA Tour will soon return to glory. That Scottie Scheffler will transcend the elitist boundaries and become an American sporting icon, just like Tiger once did. That Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm make their way back from the soulless and meaningless platform of LIV Golf. That ratings are once again robust, and that every Tour stop feels electric and momentous.

And when it happens, when the sport of golf begins speaking to the masses once again, it will discover it has an untenable viewer/spectator problem:

Slow play.

Golf is like Major League Baseball before the pitch clock. Far too many professionals dawdle through the workplace, with far too much deliberation and calculations, and far too many practice swings. Too many rely on absurdly extensive putting routines that make viewers throw remotes and scream at their televisions. The slowest of golfers don’t seem to know how infuriating they can be to a sports fan. Or they don’t care.

To wit:

Despite sublime weather in Round One of the Waste Management Open, a beautiful February day that reached 64 degrees before 9 a.m. MST, a field of 123 golfers could not finish on time. Nine golfers needed to complete their rounds on Friday despite 10 hours and 43 minutes of daylight the previous day.

On Friday, a friend and I enjoyed deep chunks of conversation between the groups that arrived at No. 16. It never used to be like this. In the past, once the players showed up at the famous 16th hole, there seemed to be a steady rhythm of groups in their wake, a parade of gladiators emerging through the coliseum tunnel for our entertainment purposes.

Now, there are wide gaps because golfers are getting lost on the course, lost in their routines, lost in their own heads.

It has been a turbulent time on the PGA Tour. Yet ratings finally began to rebound in 2025, with CBS reporting its most-watched season in seven years. Despite all the poaching and disruption from LIV Golf, those who love the sport will always tune in, especially for the iconic courses and compelling fields. But once the sport reignites and has the power to draw in casual sports fans, the PGA Tour must confront the pace of play issue.

Brian Rolapp, the new PGA Tour Commissioner, is in town for the weekend. Let’s hope he’s paying attention to the worst words in golf:

Well, we’re waiting.

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7.

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