Arnold Palmer Decided Against Needle Movers

Last Thursday, it was revealed that Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth would not receive a sponsor’s exemption.

Instead, Rafael Campos, Mackenzie Hughes, Jackson Koivun, Min Woo Lee and Justin Rose.

Rose has a relationship with Mastercard, the presenting sponsor, making his exemption extremely sensible.

Even if not for the Mastercard relationship, Rose is a small needle mover from his U.S. Open win and Ryder Cup history, worth the spot for many reasons.

Koivun, an Auburn Sophomore, received the Palmer Cup Award winner spot, leaving three players, Canadian Hughes, Australian Lee, and Campos from Puerto Rico.

None are inside the top 50 in the world, with Hughes 64^th, Lee 55^th, and Campos 125th, but more importantly, none would be considered anything close to a needle mover.

A needle mover drives interest in the event, a player that television loves to show and build a narrative around.

Neither Campos, Hughes, nor Lee comes close to driving such interest.

So, who’s missing from the field that would move the needle?

It’s an easy answer, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth.

With only six career wins, Fowler has been a needle mover for years while his game has not been sparkling since a playoff win at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage with only one top 10 since the July win, Rickie sells.

Spieth hasn’t won since 2022, when he won in a playoff over Patrick Cantlay at the RBC Heritage and is coming off wrist surgery last Summer.

Like Fowler, Spieth is one of the biggest needle movers, in professional golf, even with a spotty record recently and a wrist still not 100%.

Once you get past Tiger Woods, Spieth joins Rory McIlroy and Fowler on the is on the Mount Rushmore of needle movers.

So, instead of picking players on the Mount Rushmore of needle movers, the Arnold Palmer Invitational hierarchy decided to pick players who are nothing close to moving any interest into the tournament.

Sponsor exemptions should draw interest in the tournament and support the sponsor's desires.

In this case, I doubt anyone at Mastercard could identify Campos, Hughes or Lee in a lineup.

So, how does offering them a sponsor’s exemption make sense?

Fowler and Spieth would have played in the pro-am and gladly met with sponsors and their guests during the week since they know how it works.

Those meet and greets are the currency the PGA Tour uses to get and keep sponsors.

Leaving Fowler and Spieth on the sidelines makes little sense, making one wonder what the tournament is trying to accomplish.

There is a rumor that Campos wrote a lovely note to the tournament asking for an exemption, which is very nice. However, a compelling note should be balanced against the tournament's needs and the potential value of the exemption.

The value lies in a Fowler and Spieth selection in this particular case, without a question.

Making the move by the Arnold Palmer people, lacking and that being charitable.