Five Bold Predictions for 2025 ⛳

Some More Realistic Than Others 🙃

Good morning and Happy Holidays! I sincerely hope each of you has enjoyed some quality time over the past month, in whatever shape that may take. Personally, the holiday season always triggers senses of both reflection and foresight, all while trying to stay as present as possible. It can be a challenging task, especially when you are expected to put a smile on and act as if everything is wonderful. For some, it's just a jolly ole holiday season, but that is not the case for all. We all go through ups and downs, know if the holiday season catches you at a down, you are not alone, and it is more than okay to feel that way.

Speaking of foresight, I also began hypothesizing over the holidays on what 2025 holds from a professional golf perspective. I don't expect it to be without fireworks, as the content gods continued to deliver week after week in 2024. Without further ado, here are five predictions for the upcoming year.

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1. TGL Flops

I will just flat out say it, sitting here right now typing this, I could not be more out on TGL. I recognize, while not being my cup of tea, the virtual golf scene is a huge propeller for the golf industry. That said, the marketing and rollout has been elementary. Generally, the players have no relationship with the teams, “representing” a city or region, they are on. The hype video scripts sound like they were spit out of an AI generator. Honestly, it's been as laughable as the LIV marketing. I do not understand who this is marketed towards. If they are trying to general casual non-golfer viewership, then I cannot think of something less inviting than the Jupiter Links team.

Architecturally, it has been interesting to follow the virtual hole rollouts, but they certainly have not hit on that either. From a format perspective, there is nothing creative about it. The first 9 holes are 3v3 cumulative score then the last 6 are singles matches. I do see where 3v3 cumulative could get interesting on a hole to hole basis.

I am interested to see how long these matches take. They are slated for two hours on ESPN, but I will be surprised if they keep it within that window. Nothing in professional golf happens fast. I know it’s virtual golf, but for six pros, 15 holes is a lot of golf in two hours. The matches are mostly in prime slots on ESPN, so ratings should not be bad, it's just what does ESPN usually get out of those hours will be the best comparison.

Another factor is the investment from the players themselves. Are they going to be able to show their personalities for the league, or is the added time commitment going to enervate the players and the league itself? Like "The Match" series Capital One and TNT puts on, these televised events are more than golf, they are reality TV. Players are going to have to be able to entertain for TGL to succeed, and I am skeptical at best of their overall ability to do so. Along that note, The latest rendition of "The Match", or the "The Showdown" as it was dubbed, promoted a LIV vs. PGA TOUR duel, yet was the second lowest viewed Match of the eleven they’ve produced.

Personally, I just do not think the TGL product is a good direction for professional golf, nor is it what viewers want. I hope I am wrong, but I expect it to be a pretty boring two hours of television.

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2. Jay Monahan Resigns 🤞

Moving towards my wish list, the first step towards a healed professional golf world is the absence of Jay Monahan. We may be moving in this direction as the PGA Tour announced they are searching for a new CEO of PGA Tour Enterprises. The release of this information was hilariously fumbled in typical PGA Tour fashion, through an obvious pre-recorded interview presented as if it were live (worth the watch📺). Monahan, as of now, will remain Commissioner of PGA Tour, Inc., as well as serve on both boards of the Tour and PGA Tour Enterprises. So what does all this mean, one may ask? No one really knows right now. It was initially reported with the formation of PGA Tour Enterprises that Monahan would be named CEO, but those plans have clearly changed.

I do expect a merger agreement between LIV and the PGA Tour to happen in 2025. The Trump administration will make it easier for a deal to flow through the DOJ and both sides know this. That said, I do not expect professional golf to look any different until at least 2027 or 2028. If we are still under Monahan's leadership then, don’t expect the product to look much different than as it does now, stale and unimaginative.

I can’t tell from this announcement if Monahan is losing or gaining power. With a new set of eyes on the PGA Tour (SSG), this announcement may suggest Monahan is being sniffed out for the poor leader he is. I’m curious to see if the new CEO position is one of actual power or rather a puppet for Monahan. One thing is for sure, with Monahan at the helm, professional golf is extremely limited.

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3. Scottie Scheffler Wins Two Majors

While we cannot speak to his longevity quite yet (which is a huge factor on the greatness scale), Scottie is the most week-in, week-out dominant player since Tiger Woods. The statistics back that up, any way you slice it. Scottie's year was Tiger-esque, racking up 9 wins (including TOUR Championship and the Hero) and a Green Jacket. The odds are not quite there yet, but it's getting close to Scottie vs. the field whenever he tees it up. That said, Xander Schauffele undermined Scottie's year to a degree, as he nabbed two majors himself. This is a feat that has been achieved only 33 times in history and seems to be happening less and less since the Tiger era.

While it's not a total rarity, multiple majors in a year is a true mark of a dominance. Looking at the players that have done it, there are no flukes. Logically, Scottie is the next player in line. Scottie's domination is padded by Strokes Gained numbers, wins, and consistency. There is no sign of him slowing down either (despite the freak accident over Christmas that will cost him a month). I am predicting Scottie to win at Augusta—we are all aware of his track record there. Looking elsewhere, there is just not a golf course that sets up poorly for him. When you ballstrike it to absolute death like Scottie, it is just a matter of putts going in. Not to mention his putter has been steadily improving. Scottie tends to separate at the more demanding places, so I'll go with the second major win at the US Open at Oakmont.

We will see what happens, but I have grown over time to the idea that Scottie is likely the next generational great. In an era where separation is almost impossible due to equipment, Scottie has that gear others don't. Additionally, the "rollback" (if that is what we are calling it), is only going to separate him further. On camera it may not look as pure as the likes of Johnny Miller, Nick Price, Sergio Garcia, or Tiger Woods, but at least from a statistical perspective, he’s as much of a flusher as anyone we've seen since data's been accurately analyzed.

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4. Rory McIlroy Wins The Open

I recently listened to No Laying Up's podcast, The Lost Decade of Rory's Majors, and it hit all the feels. McIlroy's always been a true idol of mine, in every sense. I revere his authenticity, the way he plays golf, and how he handles himself as an athlete and individual.

I think idols hold a special place in a person’s life, one that is hard to describe. You may not know them, but you feel like you do. You have grown with them, felt their pain. There is a human relatability despite living such different lives. There is a special energy between a person and the people they idol, it shapes their identity to an extent.

I might not always be an optimist, but when it comes to Rory McIlroy, I'm always hopeful. The ten year major drought has gone by fast, and it feels like Rory is trying to win his first again. Last year's US Open slip was another heartbreaker for Rory, and I literally threw my phone after he missed his par putt on 18. But on the other side heartbreak for Rory, which seems to have arisen an unfair amount over the last 3 years, has been growth.

Rory is going to get another one. The stats bear out, he is consistently a top 5 player in the world, and his longevity in this era is unmatched. The Open this year is hosted at Royal Portrush, in McIlroy's home country of Northern Ireland. Last time Portrush hosted The Open in 2019, McIlroy rode an emotional roller coaster of 79-65 to miss the cut by one. Northern Ireland obviously holds a special place in McIlroy's heart, even further emphasized in 2024 after narrowly losing the Irish Open at the renowned Royal County Down in his home country.

It feels right for the ten-year drought to halt right where everything began for McIlroy, in Northern Ireland, at Portrush. The same place he broke the course record, shooting 61, as a naive 16 year old.

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5. A JT Resurgence

In my opinion, a combination of poor putting plus a mysterious hip injury, causing some swing and ballstriking issues, has led to the dip in Justin Thomas' play over the past couple of years. I swear JT hits more lips than anyone I've ever seen. He looks like he puts a lot of good rolls on putts, they just do not fall. He has gone to Aimpoint to try and take the green reading variable out, which makes sense, but the stats haven't backed that switch up. Interestingly enough, JT's Strokes Gained change is not drastic, and nothing is shockingly worse. JT's always been able to get a lot out of his game, or the sum has always equaled more than his parts. However, the last couple of years, it has been quite the opposite. He is just not getting the ball in the hole. JT is a bit of an enigma when it comes to his results.

Appearing to be healthy, JT has added a huge piece of the puzzle that he's never really had in his career, distance. JT has increased his ball speed ~5mph with his driver, as evident at the Hero World Challenge. This is an astronomical increase at the professional level. Distance is not a bonus in the professional game, it's a necessity. JT was getting left behind in that regard, but it appears he has caught up. Speed increases can come with swing flaws in many cases, but supposedly JT's gains came strictly from the gym, with no speed sticks, lessening the chance of a backfiring.

JT is not my favorite person, but he is a fascinating player. He just missed the shift of being taught a speed first game, which has given the way he plays a unique personality. His short game is all-world, and he is an old-school shaper with the irons. There is a brazenness attitude on the golf course, and I think the professional game is better when he is relevant. We are going to see JT back on big time leaderboards this year.

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Past Parallel in 2025

As it goes, Past Parallel has taken a backseat to life over the past two months. Writing is hard! However, it is good to be back and you'll still see me in your inboxes in 2025. From a golf perspective, I will likely be covering the majors and larger items in golf throughout the year (let's say once a month 😉). Here is to hoping for an exciting year of golf ahead.

See you all in the New Year, wherever our paths may cross.

-Griffith