Jack Nicklaus used to say that he knew before the first shot whether he’d beat whatever poor soul he was paired with that day. He’d look at them on the opening tee, and they’d be nervous, or jittery, or unsure what to do now that they were at the precipice … and he had them. The moment of truth had arrived for them, and they weren’t up to it.
Golf’s moment of truth is here, and the sport is badly flailing. Half the sport’s best or most notable players play on one tour, half on the other. They all only come together at the four majors — the next one, the PGA Championship, tees off next week — and then spiral off into their own tournaments, cashing massive checks in front of rapidly dwindling audiences.