“I think what’s happening is not sustainable right now.” Any idea what Rory McIlroy was alluding to back in April? Seems like a no-brainer, to be honest. Well, most wouldn’t disagree with the Northern Irishman, especially since the sport has witnessed a significant drop in fans tuning in for the same. Even Bryson DeChambeau, who once urged for ‘things to work out’, would agree with him. But there’s one who wouldn’t see eye to eye. Enter USGA CEO, Mike Whan.

The executive mentioned the same in an interview with Golf Digest. “Forty-six million people playing golf in the United States,” said Whan as he hinted at the immense growth that the game has gone through. “And the growth being driven by demographics that didn’t use to be considered a big part of this game: juniors and people of color.” Interestingly enough, a report by the National Golf Foundation reveals how the biggest participation in the sport has come in the junior ranks, with a net gain of almost a million juniors (ages 6-17). And such an increase came so after the pandemic.

But he didn’t stop there. “Men’s golf is only up a little bit,” added Mike Whan as he alluded to the sport’s growth when it comes to women’s golf. “There are a thousand more girls’ golf teams today in high schools in America than there were 10 years ago. Golf is almost equal with soccer.” Well, it’s time to learn about another fact. Surprisingly enough, there are a total of 996 colleges that offer women’s golf programs.

Out of the total 996, the NCAA governs 727 of them, while NAIA covers 143 schools. Meanwhile, those athletes who are competing outside of these divisions can do so while choosing from the 100 other junior colleges in America offering the same. Surprised? It’s natural to be so.

It does make it hard for most to deny Whan’s claim when he goes on to contradict the likes of Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau: “In terms of business, I joined this game when I was 29, and it’s never been righter than it is right now.” However, what does the Northern Irishman want? A correction, it would seem!

The current situation is ‘not sustainable’, as per Rory McIlroy

“There needs to be a correction,” said the 35-year-old as he pointed out how unsustainable the current split in the game is (remember the inception of LIV Golf and the chaos that ensued?). “I think what’s happening is not sustainable right now, so something needs to happen to try to bring it all back together so we can all move forward so we don’t have this division that’s sort of ongoing.”

Yes, he was issuing a plea for the two sides to come together. And yes, the PGA Tour data backed up his claims. How, you ask? Well, the TV ratings back when he commented were down a whopping 20% for the Jay Monahan-led circuit. “If you look at the TV ratings of the PGA Tour this year,” highlighted Rory McIlroy, “they’re down 20 percent across the board. That’s a fifth;
that’s big.”

You can’t deny that it does seem quite a bit problematic for the PGA Tour to witness such abysmal numbers when it comes to ratings. No wonder Rory McIlroy was adamant about there being a merger along with Bryson DeChambeau. But when will it happen? The fans can only wait!