To the anger of purists, high-profile sports are shortening the lengths of their contests, with one notable exception, writes Martyn Ziegler
Andy Murray will never again have to face a marathon final set at Wimbledon after it was decided this year to use tie-breaks to decide matchesTIMES PHOTOGRAPHER JACK HILL
The Times, November 23 2018, 5:00pm
As Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson teed off in the $9 million golf challenge that has offended some traditionalists, tennis fans in France were bidding farewell to the Davis Cup which is being revamped after 118 years.
Almost everywhere one looks in sport, formats are being “rebranded”. Usually, the desperation to draw more eyeballs has provoked the same answer: make it shorter.
Golf’s first pay-per-view event has been described as “putrid” by Eddie Pepperell, the British player, after a picture of the sport’s two stars was distributed showing them surrounded by piles of money. Their contest involves the two players head to head, rather than the 150 who enter the majors.
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods prepare to face each other in the $9 million golf challengeKYLE TERADA/USA TODAY
That is not golf’s only attempt to be more exciting. The European Tour has…
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