The Hostile Takeover of the DP World Tour by Another Name
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and the suits at PGA Tour headquarters are suffering of what I call LIV Derangement Syndrome or LIVDS.
LIV and Greg Norman have created the perfect storm and the PGA Tour does not know how to tackle it.
Sure, they have their useful fools at the Golf Channel doing their bid on television, even during golf tournaments. Taking away from the live coverage to virtue signal about how the PGA Tour is better than LIV, the Saudis, and their billions of dollars.
Throwing silly names around like “sportswashing” and claiming moral superiority over those who chose to join LIV and Greg Norman’s vision of golf.
There is no secret that as much as I enjoy watching professional golf, I think the PGA Tour is a greedy organization and under Jay Monahan’s leadership, even more so. But that is my personal opinion of the organization’s leadership and not of the players.
In the latest stunt coming out of PGA Tour headquarters, the PGA Tour has been forced to rethink their strategy and alliances in an attempt to defeat LIV and maintain a monopoly on professional golf.
Jay Monahan and DP World Tour Commissioner Keith Pelley have disclosed a new 13-year operational joint venture partnership. The main talking points are:
- PGA Tour increases existing stake in European Tour productions from 15% to 40%
- DP World Tour guarantees growth in annual prize funds to members for the next 5 years
- Sunshine Tour/PGA Tour Australasia now enjoy a formal pathway to the DP World Tour
- Starting in 2023, the top 10 players at the end of season DP World Tour rankings will earn PGA Tour cards (in addition to those already exempt)
In their combined press conference, Jay Monahan said, “It was clear from the outset that our Strategic Partnership with the European Tour Group was a powerful agreement for both sides, and we are thrilled with today’s announcement of this expanded partnership. We will continue to collaborate on a global schedule and key commercial areas as we draw our organizations and memberships even closer together while innovating to provide the most entertaining and compelling golf possible to fans around the world.”
Keith Pelley went on to say, “Building on the success of the existing Strategic Alliance between ourselves and the PGA Tour, this move will significantly enhance the meritocratic ecosystem that has successfully served the professional game on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 50 years. It is a natural extension and progression of what we have been doing over the past few years and I passionally believe that this move is the right thing for our players, our Tour, our fans, and the game of golf in general.”
He went on to say, “Our two tours have undoubtedly drawn closer over the past few years and today’s announcement strengthens both Tours for the betterment of our memberships.”
It is curious to me that all of the sudden the PGA Tour is so enamored with the DP World Tour. After all, the PGA Tour has never encouraged their members to participate on the DP World Tour, and is public knowledge American players do not like to play in Europe or in any other continent where the DP World Tour runs tournaments.
Very few Americans are members of the DP World Tour or care to be members of the DP World Tour.
The DP World Tour has always been seen by many as a lesser tour, with most of the European born stalwarts jumping ship to join the PGA Tour in the United States.
This is all happening now because of Greg Norman and LIV Golf. Otherwise, Monahan and his crew would have never made this move. If that is not the case; why now?
Simple, the PGA Tour is in a crisis and needs the DP World Tour to fortify itself from LIV defections. Will it work? I am not so sure.
Going from 15% to a 40% investment, is a big jump, and anybody spending that amount of money is going to want something in return. Again, nobody knows the details of this “Strategic Alliance,” but if I owned 40% of the DP World Tour, I am going to expect to have a huge voice in any business decisions affecting the tour.
The rest of the talking points are nothing more than ways to deter current and future players form joining LIV.
In my opinion, this is nothing more than the equivalent of a hostile takeover of the DP World Tour by the PGA Tour. The DP World Tour will now be the useful idiot to counter LIV, and they will be at the mercy of Jay Monahan.
Even the Korn Ferry Tour, the PGA Tour feeder tour, has agreed to award 30 PGA Tour cards in 2023. That is five more PGA Tour cards. The PGA Tour hopefuls have a long way ahead to fulfil their dreams. Thanks Jay!
The PGA Tour is also bringing back the defunct Q School to spice things up and make it even harder for players to get to the PGA Tour.
All of this is good talk at a time when professional golf is evolving. The PGA Tour is throwing everything but the kitchen sink at LIV, but with over $900 billion dollars in assets, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia can finance LIV for a long time.
Nobody knows how this is going to work out, but one thing is for sure, players like McIlroy and Justin Thomas will not have to worry about earning a paycheck. They just need to keep blabbering Monahan’s talking points and they will be all right.
In the meantime, the LIV Golf Series will be teeing it up in Portland this week and people are going to watch.