Professional golf looked set to end 2023 with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf in sync after two years of animosity, attrition, ill will and lawsuits. A framework agreement announced in June and scheduled for approval on Sunday aimed to bring together two warring tours, as well as the DP World (European) Tour.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have extended their self-imposed deadline for the new company tentatively called PGA Tour Enterprises.
Whatever happens, questions will remain.
During December 16 and 17 PNC Championship in OrlandoSeveral of the best golfers of the past few decades spoke to the Orlando Sentinel about several topics surrounding the sport’s most turbulent period in the modern era.
Is there enough audience and interest for two high-profile tours to coexist?
Bernhard Langer, winner of the PNC and Nick Faldo were at the top of their game during the heyday of the European tour in the 1980s and 1990s, when Hall of Famers Sap Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle, Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie were also among the world’s top players. Across the Atlantic, the PGA Tour has had its share of stars and major events.
“We had a period in the late ’80s where we had five of the top eight (ranked golfers),” Faldo, 66, said. “We were strong.”
Yet, apart from the biennial Ryder Cup, the tours have passed without tension between them.
The emergence of Saudi-funded LIV Golf in late 2022 has brought a different dynamic and competition for top golfers. Among the PGA Tour players who have gone to cash in are three of the last five major champions (Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Cam Smith), main attraction Bryson DeChambeauformer world number one Dustin Johnson and living legend Phil Mickelson.
A niche sport with a limited dedicated audience outside the major championships is now trying to produce two attractive circuits.
“The risk is the financial backing they have at LIV, they don’t need to be convincing,” said former Tour star Jim Furyk. “The PGA Tour must be convincing. We have to be the number one tour in the world to stay the same.
During Langer’s era, two tours flourished before Tiger Woods and Mickelson shifted the balance of power, marginalized the euro and propelled the sport to new heights of popularity.
“Is it good for golf?” Langer, 66, said. “We’ll know in 10 or 15 years.”
Faldo, an analyst for CBS from 2006 to 2022, said the current model is unsustainable.
“We are too thin between three circuits: LIV, PGA Tour and Europe,” he said. “The ultimate solution is to have a world tour where 120 players travel the world… playing around 20 events, plus the majors. There’s too much golf.
“But it’s far. This would require serious organization.
Is Commissioner Jay Monahan the man to lead the PGA Tour forward?
Monahan’s missteps began when he refused a phone call from LIV organizers in December 2022 and continued when he presented the framework agreement to players in October 2023 without getting their input. Meanwhile, the 54-year-old went away for almost two months to seek medical attention due to his anxiety, amid a cascade of criticism and calls for his resignation.
“He’s trying to do his best,” Furyk said. “Maybe going back and picking up that phone the first time they came and having discussions early on, without being combative now in hindsight, might have been the way to go.”
Furyk considers Monahan a friend who belongs to the same country club.
“It’s hard for me to come out of there and be somewhat impartial,” Furyk said.
The decision will come down to a vote by the PGA Tour Policy Board. The 12-player group includes six players, including Woods, who recently joined.
Former world number one David Duval has not been a regular active Tour player since 2014, but he became a Golf Channel analyst in 2015 in exchange for his opinions. The 52-year-old doesn’t mince his words when it comes to Monahan.
“I love Jay,” Duval said. “He was an excellent commissioner. But given the way it happened, I find it difficult, even as a friend, to see how he continues to lead the Tour. They certainly need to at least explore other possibilities.
“If they don’t, I think the members are going to be very upset.”
Will flagship events harm the sport?
Furyk cheered fellow Jacksonville resident David Lingmerth’s unexpected victory at the 2015 Memorial Tournament, where Jack Nicklaus greeted him behind the 18th green.
Matt Every’s consecutive victories (2014-15) at the Arnold Palmer Invitational did not generate a television audience like Woods’ eight victories at Bay Hill. But the Orlando community could get behind the victories of a former UF star who attended the event as a child from Daytona Beach.
These feel-good stories will be a thing of the past in 2024, as so-called signing events will narrow the field down to 70-80 of the best players from previous and current seasons.
“Either way, I bet these guys wouldn’t have gone into these areas at marquee events,” Furyk said of Lingmerth and Every. “I like the access. They still have to beat the best guys in the world. If you do, good for you.
Smaller teams are good for top players who pushed for change thanks to the $25 million purses LIV offered to 48-player teams. With the flagship events arriving in 2023, the API increased the purse from $12 million to $20 million for 120 players.
“The LIV Tour is pushing the PGA Tour to make some changes,” said Winter Park native and 2013 Memorial winner Matt Kuchar. “If you were a Tour player this year, you had sold-out events with giant purses. It’s been a great year to be on tour. The year ahead, if you’re in the Top 50, it’s shaping up to be an incredible year.
The tournaments themselves will be unrecognizable to traditionalists.
The Arnie, Memorial and Genesis will still have a 36-hole cup, but the other five, including the famous Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Heritage, will not. Kuchar, 45, wonders if the format will continue.
“I don’t think this is the final version of what the PGA Tour looks like,” he said.
How will smaller tournaments take place?
The elimination of the 54-tournament season leaves 39 official events on the 2024 calendar, many of which also feature less attractive fields and purses.
Two rounds of the four-player Florida Swing tournament have already suffered in recent years. The Honda Classic has lost the Tour’s longest-standing sponsor. The Feb. 29-March 3 event is now funded by information technology company Cognizant. The Valspar Championship in Tampa was moved to the week after the Players Championship, the Tour’s flagship event and often followed by a week off for top players.
Ticket sales, television ratings and charitable donations could suffer.
“With the dynamics that are happening in the professional world, I understand some of it,” Duval said. “As long as it doesn’t compromise the integrity of the other events that are so vital to the communities they’re in, you can see the importance of it.”
Faldo wonders how long the sponsors will stay on board.
“It’s not good value for money,” he said. “You want the best players and you’re not going to get the best players. This is what they need to take care of. Everything is going to collapse. »
What is the impact of Rahm’s recent exodus to LIV?
Rahm stuck with the PGA Tour until LIV made the 29-year-old Spaniard an offer he couldn’t refuse. Langer, who became a professional at 15 in Germany, does not hold a grudge against Rahm, who has suffered much criticism.
“Everyone’s decision,” Langer said. “We are all professionals. We do it to make a living. We don’t do it for fun; pleasure comes with victory and success. I don’t like the LIV Tour, but I understand some of the guys taking the money.
Faldo called the decision “hypocritical” and “disappointing” given Rahm’s public support for the PGA Tour. The biggest concern is a possible ripple effect.
“He could do a lot of damage because he’s a star on the PGA Tour,” Faldo said. “A lot of sponsors will say if they lose a few more, we’ve had enough, we won’t have the field we want. It could really start a truly disruptive period.
Edgar Thompson can be contacted at [email protected].
