Posted by Jason Sobel
As far as professional golf tours go, the Champions Tour is like that out-of-state uncle you always mean to keep in touch with but never get around to calling.
I can honestly say that I know a lot of golfers and golf fans, and not one has ever professed a great love for the senior circuit. Sure, there may be folks out there setting the TiVo to watch Allen Doyle, but I think most golf enthusiasts watch the older guys only when they stumble across a late-night reair or catch some highlights on Golf Channel.
It's not like we have anything against the senior tour, per se; it's just that it doesn't own much appeal when stacked against the competition.
Even though I cover every facet of professional golf, I'll admit I don't watch all that much from the Champions Tour. It's tough, really; on weeks when I'm on the road at a PGA Tour event, I've got no shot at sitting down in front of a TV and watching a senior tournament. On weeks when I'm not at a PGA Tour event, well, I keep pretty glued to the screen, switching over to the LPGA or Nationwide Tour only during commercials, or before/after coverage is over.
Where does that leave the Champions Tour? Well, in the dark, I guess.
Every year, the tour trots out its newest lineup of "rookies" -- those who have just hit the half-a-hundred milestone -- in hopes of gaining a greater fan base. Sometimes, it works; the additions of players like Fred Funk, Loren Roberts and Jay Haas have added a more competitive dimension to the league and, perhaps more importantly, have converted some fans into becoming more Champions Tour-centric. Others, like Greg Norman, have mostly eschewed the circuit, instead choosing to neglect the week-in, week-out rigors of the tour in favor of a more relaxed lifestyle, with appearances at the majors and a few other select events.
By now, you've probably seen the news that the Champions Tour will inherit a potentially star-studded rookie class this season. There are seven former major champions who will hit the big Five-Oh in '07, led by Nick Price, who will make his debut at this week's Allianz Championship, and Mark O'Meara, who will compete in next week's Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. The others, in order of when they'll become eligible, include Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Wayne Grady, Bernhard Langer and Jeff Sluman.
It's a pretty formidable lineup. Honestly, I can't say I'd be too excited were Grady in contention on the weekend at some event, but to see guys like Seve and Faldo dressed in deep blues with a chance to win down the stretch is extremely intriguing.
And therein lies the main goal of the Champions Tour. Give us a little blast of the past, right in the here and now. It may not be enough to get you and me to watch wire-to-wire coverage of an entire event anytime soon, but maybe we'll stick around a bit longer the next time the PGA Tour goes to commercial break.
