Tiger Woods' ex-coach indirectly criticizes the PGA Tour by backing a popular golf personality

Though Tiger Woods’s former coach, Hank Haney, avoided naming the PGA Tour, his recent social media post made his view clear. Haney backed criticism of how the Tour now runs its events, including the shift to smaller fields.

Haney reshared a post on X (formerly Twitter) from Lou Stagner, the Data Insights Lead at Arccos Golf and an assistant golf coach at Princeton University. In the post, Stagner shared his frustration with the current viewing experience on the PGA Tour. On December 24, Stagner wrote:

“All of this just sucks to be honest. I miss the PGA tour I grew up watching. I don’t like that the landscape is fractured. I don’t like small field signature events. I used to NEVER miss watching an event. Now there are a TON of events I don’t watch a single minute of.”

Haney reshared the post and added a brief comment of his own:

“A lot of people share these same thoughts.”

Before the recent changes most Tour events featured full fields of over 120 players and followed a traditional four-round format with a cut. Fans could watch a wide range of players compete each week not just a limited group of top-ranked names.

Under the current structure, Signature Events have reduced fields of around 70 players and offer higher prize money with guaranteed spots for top players. Events such as The Sentry, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage and The Memorial fall into this category.

Haney coached Tiger Woods during one of the most successful stretches of his career, helping him win six major championships and 31 PGA Tour titles between 2004 and 2010. Although he no longer coaches top professionals, Haney continues to share his views on the game through social media.

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When Tiger Woods’ former coach spoke about PGA Tour ratings if LIV golfers returned

Earlier this season, the PGA Tour faced issues with slow pace of play, which impacted both viewing experience and television ratings. The problem became more noticeable at the Farmers Insurance Open, where several players withdrew from the event at Torrey Pines.

Hank Haney addressed the issue while speaking on his podcast, where he criticized the pace of play and its effect on fans watching at home. His comments were later quoted by The Golfing Gazette.

“I know people rip LIV, but if I want to watch golf I at least want to see players hit some shots. The final round at Torrey Pines, the first nine holes took three hours to play.”

Haney also shared his outlook on Tour ratings if former LIV Golf players were to return. He suggested that even major changes may not lead to a significant improvement in viewership.

“I don’t think if they got rid of LIV, if they put all the LIV players back on to the PGA Tour, if they stopped talking about money, they could do all those things, and I still don’t think their ratings are going to be great.”

Haney has remained outspoken on several issues in professional golf. In 2024, he stated that winning on the PGA Tour had become easier following the departure of multiple players to LIV Golf.

Edited by Sonali Verma