The Golf Channel's PGA Tour coverage is missing the drama

Maybe it’s just me but I have to wonder what The Golf Channel trying to accomplish with their weekday coverage of the PGA Tour. They almost totally miss out on the drama of the 36 hole cut. Perhaps they are satisfied just having some live coverage of the best Tour on Earth. But I suspect there are many like myself who have an interest in who makes the pars and birdies necessary on the last few holes of their second round in order to play on the weekend. I also like to watch players struggling with that pressure and making an ugly bogey or double with something on the line. That is compelling viewing to me.

When the pros tee off on Friday - especially the second half of the field that tees off in the afternoon - they have a fair idea where the cut will fall (roughly double what 70th place was after the first day of play). They can tell if course & weather conditions have changed enough to move the number higher or lower. For instance, last week at the Wachovia at 3:45pm there were 72 players at even par or better, with 12 of them at even par and still on the course. Included in that dozen were Fred Couples, Boo Weekley, US Open champ Angel Cabrera and Ryan Moore. With the wind blowing, Quail Hollow playing tough and pressure growing late in the day, it looked like the cut line would move to 1 over par. There were another 21 players at one over par, with 14 of them still playing. Included in that group were Brandt Snedeker, Lucas Glover and Bubba Watson.

Would it be too much to ask for a little attention to the mini-drama of the cut situation once in between each commercial? How hard could it be to produce some sort of graphic to display those in danger of missing as well as those hanging on? Then we might get watch some players performing under a little pressure on Friday, as opposed to the highlight reels of all the “name” players hitting their best shots of the day. Bor-ing!

Missing out on this drama was understandable when USA channel was broadcasting Thursday and Friday rounds because golf was not their primary business. But The Golf Channel? Honestly, there’s no excuse for that.