For those who follow the American golf tour and the discussions with the Saudi golf tour (aka “The LIV Tour), we are slowly but surely approaching a watershed moment. For the past three-four years the American tour has scraped against the emergence of the foreign tour. At first the PGA of America dismissed the Saudi tour as just an upstart. Then several American tour players jumped to the bigger purses on the Saudi tour stops and the American tour officials cried “foul”. Many top players opted to leave the American tour and that displeased the TV sponsors who funded the American tournaments. The next round of discussions between the two tours centered on how both tours could merge and both benefit. The problem with that step is that each side wanted ultimate control of tour dates, purse amounts, eligibility for Major tournaments (like the Masters) and a lot of other issues. Since the Saudi Wealth Fund was putting up the bulk of the purse money they wanted control. But the American PGA was uncomfortable with that arrangement. The American PGA threatened to exclude any American player who played on the Saudi tour from Major tournaments–the Masters, the PGA, the US Open and the (British) Open. That tactic was shot down by the advertisers because eliminating popular players might negatively affect TV ratings and diminish the value of the ad dollars. So players like John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and others were allowed to compete. But we are approaching a serious crossroads (call it a “challenge”) for the American tour. We have once again (Like Tiger Woods over a 15 year span) a dominant player on the American tour. Scotty Scheffler is the #1 golfer in the world and is winning tournaments. He just won the PGA tournament–a Major. He’s clearly in the prime of his performing and earning career. Simple math tells us (and him) that a switch to the Saudi tour will easily double or triple his income over the next decade. Scotty is a family man and the Saudi tour would afford him much more time with his family due to the fewer number of Saudi tour events. So, ask yourself what you would do in his situation. More money and more family time vs. substantially less money and more on-the-road commitments? Another softening pro is Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman has railed against the Saudi tour from the beginning but, of late, is slowly downplaying the anti-LIV tour rhetoric. We think Rory sees the same dollar and family time advantages and is seriously considering jumping. His countryman, Shane Lowery, has already jumped and that may be the clincher for Rory. Bottom line: this season may force the American tour to make wholesale changes that will bring it up to the Saudi tour standards. That will mean more ad money, more commercial interruptions, fewer tournaments, possibly team play where players compete individually but also as a part of a team (like on the Saudi tour). We believe that more and more players will “defect” to the Saudi tour unless the American tour finds solid answers quickly.
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