It’s not an uncommon feeling for relief at the proper end of the golf season, but usually it’s a different kind of exhaustion that is the cause.
Usually, just 10 months at the coalface has us all worn out. This year, there’s been a profound irritation to add to it all.
At the weekend, the DP World Tour and LPGA seasons were completed. In Dubai, the DPWT finale was part of a weekend of premier sportswashing that didn’t even include Saudi Arabia (okay, it did a little bit).
We had the DP World Championship in Dubai, the final F1 race of the calendar in Abu Dhabi, and the World Cup opener in Qatar. None of these places are paragons of basic human rights, but the Emirates have long since re-painted their reputations.
You can argue their success in this – and in pivoting their economies away from oil to tourism – is what has provoked Saudi Arabia into their recent activities. They’re 25 years behind Dubai, and trying to make up the gap by throwing huge amounts of cash before the world stops buying their sole product.
Anyway, after a year, we’re all tired of talking about this (which, of course, is just exactly what they want). We’re tired of the intrigue and the infighting. It’s been far the biggest story of the year, but we’re cumulatively scunnered with it all.
The finish in Dubai
Good morning 🏆🏆#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1ERmY8sd6c
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 21, 2022
Back to the golf. Rory McIlroy duly claimed the DPWT title, securing a 2022 hat-trick of both main tours and the World No 1 position.
All while being the frontman for the PGA Tour in their fractious battles with the rival, Saudi-funded LIV Golf Series. Would Rory swap any two or even all three of those baubles for a second Claret Jug at St Andrews? Probably. But it’s been a hugely impressive season amidst all the distractions.
Jon Rahm, who won the event for a third time, finished strongly in what’s been a relatively disappointing year for him in total. But there’s been every sign latterly that 2022 will be a mere blip of modest success for the Spaniard.
The leading European pair were together foursquare, on all matters DPWT and LIV Golf. Rahm, other than Rory, has probably been the most vocal leading European against the “rebel” tour.
But they parted ways on the newly calibrated World Rankings, which has the PGA Tour’s RSM event in Georgia giving more points than available in Dubai.
There’s a good reason for this, being that the RSM Classic was full-field and the DP World Championship had just 50 starters. But Rahm called it “laughable” that a tour championship was ranked far less than a standard tour event with the best player being the World No 26.
You can see his point. The new calibration is far fairer generally to actual strength of field than the previous version which guaranteed extra points no matter the quality of opposition.
Still a work in progress
Jon Rahm doubling down on OWGR criticism today:
"I've gone 2nd, 1st, 4th, 1st and I have not changed my World Ranking. I don't know if that explains what I meant the other day but it should."
From what I can tell, he has a point. 22 pts for Rahm's win vs. 37 at RSM seems…off.
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) November 20, 2022
But equally, there has to be some allowance for the importance of the event. For example, the Masters still gets the self-same ranking points than the other majors under the same system, despite the fact it customarily has 60 fewer competitors.
In addition, a number of the 90-odd who do play Augusta are amateurs or aged and uncompetitive former champions.
I’m not comparing the Masters to the DP World Championship. But I am to the Players, which is not a major but has a massively larger and more competitive field than Augusta. Yet doesn’t get nearly the same ranking points.
There has to be an acknowledgement of the seniority of the event. To be fair, it’s not uncommon for a data-based recalibration like this not to take account of such nuances at the outset.
I don’t think it’s remotely a good look to be entirely hidebound to the numbers. Accept there are events which should have a higher standing. As we see with Augusta, the new calibration already does this.
Lydia’s return to the top
Finishing the season on 🔝
Lydia Ko wins her 19th LPGA Tour title at the CME Group Tour Championship! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/a7bJS1kNJU
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 20, 2022
In Florida, Lydia Ko emulated Rory by finishing the LPGA season with no majors but all the baubles. Although she had to – momentarily at least – cede World No 1 status to Nelly Korda.
We’ve always been great admirers of Lydia at T2G. She’s been a class act since she was a bespectacled 15-year-old tearing apart the women’s game. Her career hasn’t been a steady progress, but 10 years on – she’s still only 25, amazingly – she’s back at the top.
In addition – in stark contrast to some high profiled players even in the women’s game (cough, Korda) – she’s always been generous with her time and good humoured, even when her game was a struggle.
We’re all human, even the writers. If you’re nice to us, we’re going to be on your side. And I think the whole media tent is generally on Lyds’ side.
The other element from Florida was the announcement of a 2023 LPGA schedule that topped $100 million for the first time.
There’s been continual talk of LIV elbowing into the women’s game, but little sign of it happening.
Even the extra Saudi money put into their women’s event, announced last week, didn’t equate to a tenth of what they reportedly paid for the questionable services of Pat Perez.
If you’re ever tempted – spuriously – to equate the women accepting Saudi money with what LIV has been doing, remember that.
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