This week in Tour Confidential, we discuss Tiger Woods’ latest health updates, LIV Golf’s CEO change and more.
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Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Tiger Woods’ latest health updates, Greg Norman’s LIV Golf departure, the LPGA Tour’s search for a new CEO and more.
Tiger Woods spoke to the media at his Hero World Challenge, calling last season a wash and still unsure about how healthy he’ll be to play consistently in 2025. What was your biggest takeaway from Tiger’s time with the media, and how much longer do you think he’ll approach each season hoping but unsure if he’ll play a few majors before he decides to hang it up for good? Are we close to that?
Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): It’s like deja vu at this press conference every year. Tiger seems to always be frustrated with his health and unsure of what he’ll be able to do the coming season. When he said he hoped to play once a month it turned out that wasn’t even close. But none of this is surprising at this point; it’s just reality. The guy’s body has been through a lot. That said, I think this will be the status quo going forward. He’s still competitive and is going to play as much as he can and I don’t think a full-fledged retirement is coming soon unless things get substantially worse. But I’m also curious how much (if at all) he’ll play on the Champions Tour when he gets to cruise around in a cart. That day is approaching quickly.
Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Agreed, Josh. Tiger famously plays things close to the vest. But for a long while now, I don’t think he’s known much more about his plans than the rest of us have, and those plans have been to play as many majors as possible, along with a tiny handful of other events. All of the majors are available to him for pretty much as long as he’s willing to hold out hope. And I don’t expect him to give up on them entirely anytime soon. But as Red Sox second baseman Jerry Remy said when he became a broadcaster: we’re all day to day, even GOATs.
Zephyr Melton, assistant editor (@zephyrmelton): Tiger is always going to say he’s hoping to play the majors (and a few other select tournaments), but the reality is his body isn’t going to allow that. The day his car veered off the road in 2021, his career effectively ended. It remains to be seen how long it will take him to accept that fact.
LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman confirmed reports that had been circulating for weeks, which is that he’ll be out as the league’s CEO following his three-year run. (Former Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO Scott O’Neil has been reported as his replacement.) How will Norman’s time as CEO at LIV be remembered? And years from now, how significant will his role have been in whatever the pro golf landscape looks like?
Berhow: Norman’s had such a bizarre and complex relationship with the sport. It’s actually quite difficult to keep this answer concise, but in short he did well to sign some big-name players away from the Tour — Rahm, Bryson, Brooks, etc. — and, like it or not, brought disruption to the game that some fans and players thought was due for disrupting. But he also never got a quality TV deal, which was crucial to LIV Golf expanding its reach and proving it was more than just a hit-and-giggle start-up with a weird format that was streamed on YouTube. Would LIV Golf or the pro golf landscape look that differently right now without Norman, and if someone else had just taken that role? Probably not much, but Norman will be forever tied to it.
Sens: With their financial muscle, the Saudis presumably could have found any number of people to help them disrupt the men’s pro game. But Norman was the perfect vessel for it: a global star with restless ambition and–given that a rival tour was his idea all along– a super-sharp axe to grind. This weight of his name surely didn’t hurt with recruiting a bunch of the guys that LIV now has. But distaste for Norman might have helped turn off others, and did little to further the prospect of negotiations.
Melton: Norman will be remembered as a polarizing and disruptive figure. Whether you see that as a good thing or a bad one is up to you.
From one outgoing CEO to another, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, commissioner of the LPGA Tour, announced she will step down from her role in January, two years before her contract reportedly expired. While purses rose significantly since Marcoux Samaan took over in May 2021, the 2024 season ended with a Solheim Cup parking debacle and a key sponsor calling out the Tour at its season-ending event. What will be Marcoux Samaan’s legacy? And what do you think ultimately led to this early departure?
Berhow: Purses raised drastically in her time and while that’s not completely due to a league’s CEO, they get to take a ton of the credit. Increasing the purses and expanding the league’s reach and exposure were probably the two most important items on her to-do list when she started, and while one was accomplished I’m not sure the other was. Was that completely her fault? Probably not, but if the boss can take credit for purse increases they need to take the fall when things don’t go so well. Nelly Korda had a historic season and it just never seemed to gain as much traction as it should have. (Again, Korda probably could have helped herself more here too.) Finally, the Solheim Cup parking snafu was bad and the immediate response wasn’t much better.
Sens: I don’t think you can lay the parking debacle entirely at her feet. Her role is big-picture, not the nitty-gritty of on-the-ground logistics . But it was bad optics (and the sluggish communications response was amateurish), and part of the boss’s job is taking heat when such things go wrong. That the third round of the season-ending CME Championship was shown on tape-delay was another bad look. But that was a TV contract negotiated before Marcous Samaan took over. Again, though, the buck has to stop somewhere, so that becomes entwined in her legacy as well. In her defense, I think frustrations with the LPGA the season are reflective of an issue across the board in professional golf: players and organizations and networks want and expect more money than the market actually warrants. Golf is a niche sport.
Melton: I’ll give Mollie credit, she helped raise purses across the LPGA Tour and was generally well-liked among players. Ultimately, however, her inability to operate as an effective communicator was her downfall. The problems the LPGA Tour faces are too large for one singular figure to fix and I’d expect the next commish to face similar headwinds. At a bare minimum, though, they need to find someone who can better communicate with fans, sponsors and the media.
Following a year in which NBC Sports held mini “tryouts” for its lead analyst role, the network announced Kevin Kisner will be the replacement to take over the full-time gig most recently held by Paul Azinger. Do you like the Kisner selection over the other candidates?
Berhow: I think Kisner’s laid-back personality and relationship with so many current Tour pros played to his advantage, but from that chair it’s also their job to be critical when necessary. How often will Kisner pull that arrow from his quiver? We’ll find out.
Sens: Kisner can be funny and he obviously knows what it’s like to be out there, but there’s no doubt that close ties to the players he’s covering is both a benefit and a liability. I understand that Brandel Chamblee is not universally beloved, but I also think he’s as smart and incisive as there is in golf. I would have liked to see him in the role.
Melton: It’s fine. The hire isn’t ground-breaking, but it’s not a total flop either. I would’ve preferred to see Chamblee in the booth, but alas.
Two top American players returned rejuvenated last week, with Jordan Spieth taking on the Hero after a wrist injury and a bulked-up Will Zalatoris teeing it up on the DP World Tour following his first healthy offseason in years. Both sounded optimistic about 2025. Who will have the better season?
Berhow: Willy Z. He’s had a year to get more comfortable with the broomstick putter and his new swing. He seems healthy, excited and committed. I like him to win at least once next season and would not be surprised to see him do it twice.
Sens: Zalatoris. Even when he was winning majors, Spieth was reliant on an otherworldly scrambling and putting game, which is difficult to sustain. Maybe more importantly, he has also been through a long period of struggles with his game as a whole, which takes a toll on the confidence.
Melton: My coworkers nailed it. Zalatoris looked like one of the best players in the world before his injury troubles. If he’s back to 100 percent, look out.
