Bryon Nelson Championship Missing Elite
This is the first year of the Bryon Nelson Championship without Lord Byron himself. There’s no question his legacy is huge as a gentleman and a professional golfer. There’ s been some noise this week about the fact that 11 of the top 15 players in the world have chose not to compete in his tournament.
I would venture to guess that some of these players didn’t feel the need (right or wrong) to be there now that Lord Byron has passed on. Yeah, it’s probably a bit selfish that they can’t honor and support the tournament that’s been a mainstay, but on the other hand, they are “independent contractors”. This championship is one of the last tournaments that have any connection to a generation of golf legends that quite frankly, this generation doesn’t have much appreciation for. What happens when Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer pass away? Will the current crop of players bail on their tournaments as well? That would be a shame.
But if you’re a tournament director, what do you do? Appearance fees are illegal in the United States, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s where we’re going to entice the elite players on the tour. Of course, doing that would continue to fuel the debate that our American players aren’t hungry enough when it comes to match play events.