SLUMPING SENIORS

For one day in May, at least, everything seemed right again in the world of senior golf. Arnold Palmer shot his age, Jack Nicklaus was happy with his swing and Tom Watson was in contention in the Senior PGA Championship.

It was a brief bright spot in a season of discontent on the Senior PGA Tour, which is struggling in an era when Bruce Fleisher and Dana Quigley contend far more than Nicklaus or Lee Trevino.

Television ratings are plummeting and players are grumbling while the tour tries to find its niche in a golf world dominated by Tiger Woods.

Although the senior golfers are playing for more prize money than ever--$59.2 million this year--some sponsors are scaling back and a new TV contract offers more security than added riches. The tour might have mined just about all the money it can out of its 38 official tournaments, and prospects for growth are shaky at best.

Indeed, in its 22nd year, the senior tour might finally be showing its age.

“Senior golf is probably going through a little bit of a down,” Nicklaus said.

Part of the blame goes to Woods, whose dominance has overshadowed much of everything else in golf, including the senior and LPGA tours. More goes to the tour’s move this year to CNBC, where hardly anyone watches.

Ratings soar whenever Woods plays, and with his star power PGA officials expect some extra millions in a new TV contract for the regular tour.

The senior tour, by contrast, is relegated to mostly tape-delayed action on the financial channel CNBC.

Ratings are half what they were last year on ESPN and a third of what they were two years ago. In the Emerald Coast Classic earlier this year, barely 100,000 households, or a microscopic .13 of all television homes, bothered to tune in on Sunday to watch Mike McCullough beat Andy North in a playoff.

Woods in contention on the regular tour might bring a 5.0 rating, or 35 households for every one that tunes in for senior golf.

“So far they’ve been dismal,” Tom Kite said of the ratings. “I think they’re much lower than everybody anticipated.”

It’s easy to see why fans might be losing interest. A tour built on the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, Trevino and Chi Chi Rodriguez is now dominated by players who were never big names in their prime.

Palmer is a largely ceremonial figure and Nicklaus plays in only a few events. Even Trevino, who won 28 tournaments in the ‘90s and played almost every week, has scaled back at age 61 and plans to play in only half of this year’s events.

“We’re seeing a little result in not having a Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer in the forefront,” said Terry Hanson, a television consultant who once headed Turner Sports and was also a PGA executive. “I’m not so sure I’d be crying Chicken Little, but I think the audience is seeking its own level.”

CNBC began its coverage with ads promoting Kite as the tour’s new star. But to most casual fans he was probably known more for the huge glasses he used to wear on tour than for many of his accomplishments.

Lanny Wadkins is more interested in a TV career than playing the senior tour, while Watson has been bouncing between the regular and senior tours and has yet to find a comfortable spot as a senior.

“We need the players and the personalities,” veteran senior tour player Jim Colbert said. “We talk about it out here among ourselves. The players recognize what is happening.”

Watson drew criticism earlier this year when he played at the regular tour stop in Hilton Head instead of at the Tradition, the first senior major of the season.

Fellow players saw it as a snub and wondered if he was really committed to over-50 golf.

“We would love for him to step up and support the tour more,” said Doug Tewell, who won the event. “He’s a superstar; won just about everything there is to win, and we need his support.”

Watson, though, is reluctant. He still thinks he can compete on the regular tour and won’t commit to a full-time senior schedule.

PGA commissioner Tim Finchem said Watson might be underestimating his appeal.

“Any sport need stars like Tom. The senior tour needs stars too,” Finchem said.