Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar and Others Should Be New Faces of PGA

In Aug. 1996, a smiling Tiger Woods looked at the cameras and said, “Hello, world,” instantly capturing the hearts of fans across the globe and immediately taking his place as the new pitchman for the PGA and Nike.

For the past 15 years, Woods and a few other notable golfers (Phil Mickelson) have been the face of the tour, promoting everything from watches to cars and everything in between.

With Woods losing his shine as the face of the sport and Mickelson moving into the middle of the pack in age, the PGA and its officials, headed by Commissioner Tim Finchem, are missing the new crop of tour professionals who could become a marketing gold mine.

After the recent success of the European invasion, with players such as Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell matching the success of up-and-coming Americans Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and others, the PGA should rethink its strategy to involve and entertain more fans rather than rely on fading golfers such as Woods.

With the current NFL lockout and the looming NBA lockout on the horizon, golf could be the center of attention and garner more coverage while baseball wanes into the hot summer months.

In the mid-1980s, American golfers, such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ray Floyd and Tom Watson, tagged their names to merchandise that sold.

While others on the tour may not have the same stroke on American soil, other golfers, like Greg Norman, Nick Price and Seve Ballesteros, were popular enough to help the PGA carve its own niche as a marketing machine.

You don’t see that today. It is now Tiger and Phil—everyone else is two steps behind.

If The Players Championship told us anything this past weekend, it was that golf may not need Tiger Woods as much as Tiger Woods needs the PGA. With injuries to his Achilles and knee, the 14-time major winner may be sidelined for an extended period of time, giving rise to others who are younger, hungry and—of course—healthy.

Remember the old commercials for Wilson Pro Staff, where the ball would hit the cup and all the golfers would say they used that product? Why not use the newer generation in the same capacity for showing off new clubs. Better yet, they could do more human interest causes?

Buick, Tag Heuer and Top Flite may jump at the chance to get a good-looking, young and hip golfer in the latest trendy clothing to sponsor their products.

Golf, like tennis and NASCAR, is a sport where the players are basically a walking billboard of green.

NASCAR uses Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as its marketing machine, but it has other young and promising drivers promote because of their style and grace. There are the older drivers, like Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin, who still have enough stroke to promote anything and have a major following.

The PGA should try the same concepts while other sports follow suit.

When MLB went on strike in 1994, hockey got a great push to promote itself and did so with television and ratings.

Golf seems to think it needs Tiger Woods to continue to drive ratings and promote itself as a sport.

That is not the case.

Youth and enthusiasm will bring out great demand for media coverage and, in turn, for products advertised on television, in media publications and radio spots.

So, while Tiger Woods is at home nursing his legs back to health and working on the mental aspects of his game, let’s hope the PGA hierarchy can get this shot right and start promoting its newer generation of golfers. The best thing that can happen to the sport is some new endorsements on older products that continue to make the sport strong.