The Premier Golf League – not to be confused with the Saudi-backed Super Golf League concept – has taken another step toward authenticity this week with the unveiling of its website and the basic details of its intended structure.
“We love golf. And, as fans first and foremost, we believe the professional game can be better. Better for the best players. Better for the fans. Better for the sponsors, media owners and broadcasters. Better for the game itself and, of course, its community,” is how the PGL explains itself on its website.
This has been in the works for several years and will come to life in January 2023 with 48 golfers playing an 18-event schedule that includes both individual and team competition. Twelve of the 18 events will be played in the United States with the other six played around the world.
The events will have $20 million purses, richer than any event on the PGA Tour, with $4 million to the winner and $150,000 for last place. The events would be played over three days with no cut and will utilize shotgun starts so that all the players are on the course at the same time, facilitating a five-hour telecast window each day.
There is a match-play finale, plans to include top women’s players and an offer to give 50 percent ownership of the league to the golf community at large.
It’s a big, bold idea.
But there are still more questions than answers.
The biggest question is who is going to take the big money offers (reportedly well into eight figures for the top players) and leave the PGA and European Tours?
Lee Westwood, 48, has said if he were offered $50 million it would be “a no-brainer” for him. OK, that’s one. Other names – including Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson – have been mentioned as interested players.
To date, no one has signed on, or at least not acknowledged it.
Others, namely Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas, have repeatedly said they are not interested.
“I personally am about being No. 1 in the world and winning as many majors and winning as many tournaments as I can and doing historical things on the PGA Tour,” Thomas said last month.
“If I was to go and do that (the PGL), then all those things go down the drain and I can’t do that.”
Where is the money coming from?
Not from Saudi Arabia, according to the PGL website which states, “We have no Saudi or related backing.”
In a letter posted on social media, the PGL says its ownership group includes people with backgrounds in golf media sales, broadcasting, sports production, tournament operations, rules, team operations, digital operations and the law.
“We have the expertise and the financial and operational ability to deliver,” the letter states.
According to a BBC report citing PGL leader Andy Gardiner, the World Golf Group, which is driving the concept, has a combined worth of more than $20 billion.
According to a PGL social media post, the new group wants to talk with the tours about why they see the status quo as better for everyone, though there is no indication any discussions are forthcoming.
Where does the television/streaming money come from?
The short-lived Soccer Super League demonstrated there are options and money available.
Will PGL players be eligible for major championships?
That’s a critical piece to getting significant player buy-in.
Will players joining the PGL lose their PGA Tour and/or European Tour status?
The tours have suggested as much and understandably so. The alliance between the PGA and European Tours last year was in part to fend off prospective new golf organizations. They see this as a challenge to their business. The PGL, according to Gardiner in the BBC report, does not believe players will be prevented from playing on the major tours.
According to a PGL social media post, the new group wants to talk with the tours about why they see the status quo as better for everyone, though there is no indication any discussions are forthcoming.
That raises other questions:
- Is there something wrong with professional golf today?
- Has anyone been clamoring for team golf?
- Why three days, rather than four?
- Shotgun starts?
- Is it just about money?
- What about history?
To be fair, if someone comes and offers $20 or $30 million (plus tournament earnings) for a five-year commitment, a lot of players are going to listen. It would mean sacrificing their beloved “independent contractor” status because they would be bound to play all of the events, but it’s a sacrifice some players are willing to make for the right price.
Pushing the PGA and European Tours to react isn’t a bad thing. It has already produced the $40 million Player Impact Program designed to further reward the most influential players on the PGA Tour. Maybe it leads to smaller fields and more money in World Golf Championship events, another inducement for the top players.
It will force PGA Tour purses to rise and this challenge could prove again the old adage that a rising tide lifts all boats.
A new, novel concept doesn’t make the PGL a bad thing. It makes it intriguing in many ways. It’s also fair to be skeptical.
The PGL wants to be embraced by the golf community. But is it selling a product anyone other than a few players want?
That may be the ultimate question.