Iona Stephen: “The Tours’ futures and histories were at risk and that would have been a tragedy”

Iona Stephen has welcomed the potential end of division in the men's golf game.

In her exclusive monthly column, Iona Stephen expresses her relief that the divide in men’s golf appears to be over with news of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and the PIF, and questions how it will impact the women’s game.

The broadcaster and former pro also reflects on Rory’s US Open disappointment, analyses the value of inexperience after another first-time Major winner, and looks ahead to the challenges and challengers at the men’s and women’s Opens.

Plus, she reserves special praise for Georgia Hall, who used her platform for good during Pride Month.

Divide is conquered

I was playing golf with Rick Shiels at Gullane when news of the PGA and DP World tours merging with the PIF broke. Rick looked like he’d soon a ghost and, like the rest of the golf world, the pair of us felt like we had whiplash from the shock. It was one of the biggest moments in the history of the game and no one saw it coming.

The fact that the players were so blindsided by the announcement created a feeling of discomfort, uncertainty, and instability on the PGA Tour.

How did Jay Monahan go about making such a huge decision without consulting the people he’d been leaning so heavily upon for such a long period of time? It is bemusing, and there has been no explanation of why it had to be kept so secret.

But, if we ignore the obvious political and ethical elephants in the room, I felt a sense of relief throughout golf that perhaps the fractured world of men’s golf can be repaired.

Ultimately the PGA Tour was not able to compete financially – it was a battle of the deeper pockets and Monahan admitted that was a battle his tour would lose. Therefore, the very future of the tour and the whole history that comes with it was at risk. That would have been an enormous tragedy, not just for golf but for sports, and the fact that now appears unlikely must be welcomed.

It’s been an exhausting time to be involved in golf. Yes, it has reached new and larger audiences through mainstream global news platforms and apps, but it hasn’t been the right sort of news. The quite tiring narrative had to come to an end and, while we still have a long way to go before all of this fully plays out, what we can be sure of is that having all of the world’s best players playing together again will be fantastic.

LIV undoubtedly has some of the world’s best players and everybody, from the players to the fans, has loved seeing them back together at the Majors. There was a real sense of how strong golf can be at those events – something we perhaps took for granted before.

And it must be good news for the DP World Tour, which could have struggled to maintain its authority in men’s professional golf had things remained divided. Instead, the financial investment should help it to grow, innovate, and evolve into a stronger tour than ever. It has a deep and vital place in the game that has to be protected.

As one divide closes, another grows

Inevitably with more money pouring into men’s golf, it raises questions about investment in the women’s game. Right now, I’m choosing to keep my glass half full. There is more money in women’s golf than ever before and the PIF funds Aramco, which has invested heavily.

But I can’t ignore the huge increases in men’s prize funds or the payment of millions via the Player Impact Programme to players who best sold the PGA Tour product via their own social platforms. When you compare those figures to the money in the women’s game, it’s just not right, it’s not fair and there needs to be improvements made.

If we’re looking for positives that can come out of PIFs expansion in golf, I believe it gives the women’s game a chance of getting the investment it deserves, with both the men’s and women’s sport moving forwards together. That could be a positive silver lining.

Will Rory’s time ever come again?

I had the rare pleasure of enjoying a Major from the comfort of home and, despite the mixed reviews, I thoughts Los Angeles Country Club created a great tournament. Fair play to Wyndham Clark, he took full advantage of the opportunity, it was a very emotional win for him, and it’s always great to see more names enter the Major stage. We had years of one player dominating and I’m enjoying the era where we have a multitude of people in the mix.

But I can’t pretend that as a Brit and Rory McIlroy fan, I wasn’t disappointed. It was an anti-climactic finish and as soon as he missed that short putt for birdie, I just knew it wasn’t going to be his day. It had tinges of St Andrews last year, with his putter just not playing ball.

If tournaments were played tee-to-green then Rory would walk away with most events he enters, but you must take advantage of the par 5s, you have to hole putts, and you have to put pressure on those ahead of you. I’m convinced he will win another Major and when he does it’ll be an even better story.

Valuable inexperience

Getting over the line in Majors isn’t easy, no matter how often the first-time winners get it done. They feel pressure on the Sunday, but what they don’t have is the scar tissue of past disappointments. There’s plenty to be said for experience, but bad experiences are far more damaging than inexperience.

The fact Clark had never even been close to being in contention down the stretch at a Major (he’d only made two cuts and his previous best finish was a T75th) probably played to his advantage. Everything that was happening was a bonus for him. That’s not to say there wouldn’t have been a disappointment had he lost out, but he could still have taken the positives from that and built on them. There was no expectation weighing him down, he was the underdog and could almost enjoy the moment, like a bird, wings spread, sailing on the breeze.

For Rory, his experience is almost as much a curse as it is a blessing – he gets in contention and the expectation immediately grows, making it so much tougher for him to catch flight. Ultimately if it was easy to win lots of Majors then far more players would have achieved Jack and Tiger levels of dominance – players like that are a different breed.

Shorter is sweeter

I understand that courses are having to find new ways to protect themselves against the pros in the modern world, but I’m not a big fan of long par 3s like we saw at the US Open.

They struck a bit of a balance at Los Angeles Country Club by having the shortest par-3 in the tournament’s history alongside a host of very long ones, but for me, the challenge of a par 3 should come from subtle intimidation, not length. I want to see players with a wedge in hand, having to hit it to exactly the right place on a small green than players having to bash long irons almost 300 yards.

I’ll always prefer the tradition of those we see at The Open Championship, whether it’s the Postage Stamp at Troon or the new 17^th at Royal Liverpool. The latter is just 100 yards long and will provide huge drama. I played it twice last week and made a bogey and a double bogey!

Open season

This brings me neatly to The Open. I’ve been up there preparing for our coverage and spent some time with links manager James Bledge, who showed me all the changes. They’re facing some challenges as the recent hot and dry spell has stopped the rough from thickening, leaving it crisp and wispy.

But they’ve added bunkering and done what’s known as ‘green grabbing’, expanding the surface area so they can find even trickier pin positions and really tuck them away.

A good strategy off the tee is going to be vital, and I’m keeping everything crossed that mother nature plays ball and brings us some traditional British turbulent conditions. The sunshine is great, but it doesn’t feel like an Open if the conditions aren’t changeable and I love it when the rain comes down and the umbrellas come up – there’s something almost magical about it. And watching everyone trying to keep their fish and chips dry is brilliant!

When it comes to a winner, you have to fancy players who are more familiar with the turf and the nuances of links golf. Jordan Spieth’s win came not far from Hoylake and he knows how to play these courses (although driving ranges are now out of bounds, Jordan), Rory’s in great form and has great memories here, and Tommy Fleetwood is a no-brainer. He heads in off the back of some great results, has spoken about his confidence and he’ll have huge backing from his home crowd – a great combination.

If we could get those three in contention and maybe throw one or two LIV players into the narrative, we’ll be in for an incredible tournament. Who doesn’t love a rivalry in sports?!

The ripple effect

I was so pleased to see Leona Maguire get another win under her belt on the LPGA. She has all the ingredients to become one of the top players in the women’s game, which is great for the sport over here. There’s a ripple effect and in years to come we’ll see a lot of players who were inspired to take up the game by watching the likes of Leona and Georgia Hall.

Just look at the impact Mike Weir’s Masters win had in Canada in 2003. Here we are, 20 years later, and we’ve already had three Canadian winners on the PGA Tour this year, including a first at their national open for almost 70 years. In ten years or so we’ll start seeing girls coming through that took up the game because of Georgia’s Open win or Leona’s Solheim Cup performance.

Every country needs that and relies on these superstars to inspire and light the flame, so hopefully another British or Irish player can win this year’s AIG Women’s Open.

Charley Hull would be a worthy victor. She deserves a Major. Her ball-striking is of the highest quality, it’s just her course management that occasionally let’s her down and that will be vital this year.

I’m a big believer that the tournament should be played on a links course, but thankfully, Walton Heath plays like an inland links and will provide a magnificent challenge.

Georgia Hall is an inspiration

Speaking of Georgia Hall’s inspirational powers, she deserves huge credit for opening up about her relationship with fellow LPGA Tour player Ryann O’Toole.

It’s very easy for people in the spotlight to shy away from being honest about their private lives for fear of risking sponsorships or attracting negative comments, especially in the modern world of social media, but Georgia has chosen to use her platform as a force for good. That’s a wonderful thing.

We all want to see people we can relate to in positions we aspire to be in because it gives us hope and shows the opportunity is there regardless of your race, religion, or sexuality. It’s admirable and shows the strength and courage that Georgia feels within herself.

It’s also had a good impact on her golf. You can’t just leave your private life at home when you step onto the course and speaking out seems to have given her more freedom. If you’re happy off the course, very often that will feed onto the course.

READ MORE FROM IONA STEPHEN
– Is it time for Rory to change caddie?
– Zach Johnson can’t ignore LIV players for Ryder Cup
– Tiger Woods will win again

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About the author

Iona Stephen
Broadcaster and Today’s Golfer contributor

Iona Stephen is a former professional golfer, who has played on the Ladies European Tour, and is a highly-respected golf broadcaster.

She joined Today’s Golfer as a regular contributor in 2023 and offers insight into the professional game from her life working on the world’s biggest tours.

Stephen’s career has seen her work for Sky Sports Golf, CBS, the BBC, and NBC Golf Channel covering everything from The Masters and The Open, to the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup. She has also hosted prize presentations to a global audience at some of the DP World Tour’s flagship events.

The Scotswoman is as comfortable covering the game from the commentary booth as she is broadcasting in front of the camera and from the course, where she is regularly seen interviewing the world’s best players during their rounds.

Alongside her television work, Stephen also has her own YouTube channel – On The Road With Iona – which has welcomed guests including Jon Rahm, Niall Horan, Rick Shiels, Bronte Law, and Martin Slumbers.

She is also the first-ever female on-course commentator in EA Sports gaming history and can be heard on PGA Tour Road to The Masters.

Outside of golf, Stephen is an ambassador for the charity BIG CHANGE, supporting young people throughout the UK to thrive in life, not just exams. She also has an interest in optimizing health and energy for elite performance in sports and life and has a diploma in sports nutrition and a level 2 PT qualification.

She is also a mentor as part of the Stephen Gallagher Foundation buddy system and has a degree in history of art from the University of St Andrews.

Follow Iona on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok and find out more at ionastephen.com