CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Nine events into the experiment, it’s best to size the mood among PGA Tour types as cautiously optimistic.
The designated reality that the threat of LIV Golf forced on the Tour has now delivered, in order, a list of champions that includes Jon Rahm (three times), Scottie Scheffler (twice), Kurt Kitayama, Sam Burns, Matt Fitzpatrick and now Wyndham Clark. Even the most casual observer would concede the compelling mix of headliners and hopefuls, which some contend is the secret sauce that will make the new elevated lineup so much more compelling.
If the likes of Rahm and Scheffler are the kind of bottom-line production the designated events require, the intoxicating mix of Kitayama and Clark – who boat raced the designated field at the Wells Fargo Championship by four shots on Sunday for his first Tour victory – are the promise that’ll keep the entire concept in line.