PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Until about 3 p.m. local time on Thursday afternoon, just about everyone at Pebble Beach had commented on Justin Thomas’ explosive Jan. 21 letter to the PGA Tour establishment.
Well, everyone except for the author.
Thomas endured nine days of public silence after dropping a two-page bomb into the golf world last Tuesday imploring players to shift their approach toward the media and ease broadcast access, a stretch that included the first three days of this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in Monterey Peninsula.
In some ways, the silence was fine: The open letter made Thomas’ thoughts on that matter unimpeachably clear, while the general themes of the letter (openness to innovation, TV cooperation and entertainment) have been parroted by those around the sport for months. But in other ways, Thomas’ silence was curious. Obvious as his message had been, there was a lot about the letter we still didn’t know. Why had he decided to write it? Whom, if anyone, were his coconspirators in sending it? And why do it now?
On Thursday afternoon, Thomas resurfaced for the first time since, on the Spyglass Hill Course at Pebble Beach after an opening-round score of six-under, good for two shots off the lead, but the golf wasn’t on everyone’s mind. After three days of ceaseless commentary about golf entertainment from fellow Tour players, PGA Tour overlords and just about everyone else, it was time for JT to speak.
“We felt like it meant a lot more coming from players, or a player, than — no offense to the staff — but the staff,” he said of the letter. “The Tour just needs a lot more coming from us.”
Thomas said he worked on the letter with Max Homa, a fellow member on the PGA Tour’s subcommittee for tournaments, fans and sponsors. The subcommittee has been looking for ways to improve the Tour’s relationship with its money-making entities, and it did not take long for the group to realize a more engaging telecast was an easy path to revenue.
Thomas said that after crafting the initial shape of the letter, he shared his text with the PGA Tour’s executive team, who helped to refine some of his broader points and “give it a spellcheck.” Otherwise, the letter’s substance came straight from his mouth.
“No, [I’m not worried about the PGA Tour],” he said. ” I just want it to get better. There’s only so long we’ve got Tiger, and he’s obviously the biggest person in golf in forever, and probably always will be. Like anything, I just want it to get better.”
An undercurrent of concern about drooping PGA Tour TV ratings and golf’s entertainment appeal has hung over Pebble Beach for the second “Signature Event” of the 2025 season. Press conference after press conference in the early week centered around golf’s struggles in these departments, and broader efforts like TGL and YouTube that have either served to counteract or underscore those struggles in recent months.
Of course, there is ample room for disagreement about the shape of an “engaging” telecast. Some players, like Rory McIlroy, suggested that the best way to give broadcasts a shot in the arm is to put out a consistently interesting competitive product. But others, like Thomas, have suggested that in an ideal world, more competitive tournaments would also feature better — and easier — player involvement.
“It’s just communication. I know in the past, stuff that I haven’t done is maybe just because I know the inconvenience of it,” Thomas said. “It’s little things of like, OK, if Golf Channel, whatever wants us to do something during a warm-up around the range, have it in a more convenient spot. Have it ready. It’s just those little five to 10-minute increments, they add up, and they get to the point where we don’t want to do it, because it’s not because it’s not efficient.”
Thomas is one of several pro golfers who has taken a larger stake in Tour developments over the past several years — a shift that coincides with LIV’s intrusion into the sport. The two-time major champ was one of several players who received equity in the Tour for the first time last year as part of a $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group, making him a “player-owner” in his home tour.
In many ways, Thomas’ letter is why the incentive shift from “PGA Tour member” to “PGA Tour owner” is welcomed by so many PGA Tour business partners (including CBS Sports chairman David Berson, who told GOLF.com he ‘loved’ Thomas’ letter). Thomas has earned a reputation for being outspoken and well-regarded by his peers, but now the fruits of his language serve the bottom line.
“I mean, look, it’s not like we’re gonna be 20 times [our TV viewership] in a year or so,” he said. “It’s hard to look big picture because there’s nothing we could do that would have a hugely significant impact very quickly. We have to be a little selfless and think to the future.”
The PGA Tour says big changes are coming. Here’s what they mean
TV will prove a steep challenge in the coming years for the Tour as it will for the rest of the TV business, which faces stiff headwinds from cord-cutters stifling viewership numbers. Still, the success of the TGL and YouTube suggests that golf on TV is due for a refresh of some kind. This week, the Tour stepped into the fray, announcing a series of experiments to boost the telecast and speed up the pace of play based on the results of a 50,000-person “Fan Forward” survey from the fall. As part of the experiments, the Tour said it was considering changing the Tour Championship format to match play, trying out rangefinders during competition, and focus group-testing various edits of its broadcasts to appeal to fans.
Thomas rejected the suggestion that these changes were responsible for his recent correspondence, and dismissed the idea that any changes were being driven by 20 percent TV audience dips in 2024. The driving force for the letter, he said, was his desire to practice the kind of accountability that the Tour seems to be missing.
“I can’t b**ch about it if I won’t do anything about it,” he said. “It drives me crazy. [Players will say,] ‘Did you say anything to him about it?’ [And other players will say,] ‘Well, no.’ Then how do you expect it to be better?”
