No Skins? That’s Just Silly

Four of the best golfers in the world have won a combined $50.6 million on the PGA Tour, but after playing three hours and the first nine holes of the Skins Game on Saturday at Landmark Golf Club, nobody won anything. Not Tiger Woods, not Greg Norman, not Colin Montgomerie, not Jesper Parnevik. Going a day without making money didn’t seem to upset the participants, although viewers in this made-for-television special event may have a different reaction.

“I think it’s a great format,” said Woods, who would have won $25,000 under the old rules when a player with the lowest score on the hole wins the skin. But the rules are different this year. A player who wins a hole must at least halve the following hole, to validate it and win the money. No one did that Saturday, when the only validating being done was at valet parking.

At the very least, it’s a math problem: 4 players, 3 hours, 9 holes, 0 dollars equals X. And X is either a) good ratings because it’s exciting, or b) poor ratings because it’s boring.

After all, this is a television show about golf, so that’s the important factor. Norman says he’s sure it’s a sound format. “I think the ratings will say that,” he said.

Norman has a point, given the fact that $350,000 will be a stake on the 10th hole today. That should perk up the interest of viewers, besides getting the attention of the players. But no one can win the $350,000 unless he wins the 10th hole and validates at the 11th. So, in effect, no one can win anything until the 11th hole at the earliest. Norman wouldn’t be surprised if there’s no payoff until the 18th hole--a potential $1-million payday.

“You think about the chance being 70-80% that we could be walking down 18 for all the marbles,” he said.

The players were losing their marbles all over the place. After his birdie at No. 2 prevented Woods from validating, Norman could have won $50,000 at No. 3, but Montgomerie birdied it.

Montgomerie had the biggest and best chances to make money, but didn’t validate his birdie at the par-three third when he managed only a par at the fourth and missed $75,000. He made an 11-foot putt to birdie the par-three fifth, but lost a $125,000 check when he bogeyed the par-five sixth. No one won the seventh, eighth or ninth, which assured a zero money opening day by the time the players left the green. With one hole to play, the ABC announcers quickly urged viewers to tune in for Sunday’s telecast.

While the players stated their case in support of the new format, it’s probably still going to be subject to the opinion of viewers. Norman referred to the new rules as a “test format” and that is likely an accurate assessment after these nine holes of golf that made the dreary “Battle at Bighorn” seem like the back nine at the Masters. Up until then, the truly memorable moments were limited to Montgomerie trying to hack his ball out of hip-deep brush behind the sixth green and Parnevik’s sweater, which looked like he was ready for a game of tic-tac-toe.

There were a combined eight birdies--three each by Woods and Montgomerie--so it cannot be said the play was substandard. But with a format like the one they have now, if Norman is right, it’s very difficult to validate a skin. At the same time, there is so much money at stake today, that has to make it interesting, right? And Saturday was only a nine-hole warmup, a preliminary, a throwaway? If that’s true, why not play nine holes on Sundays for the whole thing?

There was one record set Saturday, as Montgomerie pointed out. “It’s the first time we’ve all come away with nothing.”