ATLANTA — A little more than six months elapsed between Phil Mickelson boasting that players had “leverage” over the PGA Tour and the revelation on Wednesday at East Lake Golf Club that proved the greatest leverage belonged to those who remained, whose loyalty increased in value as the pace of defections to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series quickened.
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As Tour commissioner Jay Monahan fought to ring-fence and then rally his troops in an effort to destroy the evil empire’s (or kingdom’s) Death Star, the price of player loyalty grew exponentially. The final bill he received isn’t cheap, but still represents hella value given the alternative he faced.
For not much more commitment, top players receive a lot more reward: significantly increased purses, often fewer guys to beat for the money, enormous bonus programs not dependent on performance, and an opportunity to benefit from the substantial adjacent wealth surrounding golf, like owning equity in the innovative digital stadium concept announced today by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
It’s been the mantra of every commissioner—admittedly there have only been four—that the PGA Tour is a member-led organization. That’s been nominally true, but only as much as players care to get involved. Most didn’t because they saw no compelling reason to distract themselves from the grind of competition, where their money was made. But when the game’s stars became a sought-after asset class, decisions had to be made. Some opted to cut and run for Saudi money, others to stay and fight—as much against the structure and complacency of their own Tour as against LIV.
Wednesday showed that the Tour’s biggest names have cemented their position atop the food chain.
“We all sort of are our own little independent businesses and we sort of try to compete against each other, and I think this is the first time in a long time where we sort of all sat down and were like, let’s try to be business partners,” McIlroy said. “How can we all pull in the same direction here to benefit everyone and to help the entire Tour and to help each other basically.”
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As with any workplace, the Tour has always had a schism between the Have Nots and the Have Yachts, with each camp routinely grumbling that money headed in the other direction ought by rights be coming to them instead. The new future that Monahan outlined won’t do much to heal the divide. That was clear in a meeting of the PGA Tour’s board on Tuesday, when player-member James Hahn was the lone dissenting voice to the new structure that was duly ratified.
In a member-led organization, Hahn’s voice counts as much as that of Woods, no matter how many more fans rush for their remote controls when Tiger plays. But Wednesday’s unveiling was a long-overdue acknowledgement by the PGA Tour that its business cannot be based on mollifying a swath of members who are well-compensated for comparative mediocrity. Every major sports league is built around the stars who drive engagement and revenue. Fans and sponsors expect it. The PGA Tour is finally moving to guarantee the product it provides both.
There will be griping about the new dispensation, of course, some of it defensible. It creates a caste system of tournaments as those not elevated to star status struggle to draw compelling fields. Using the controversial Player Impact Program to define “top” players eligible for lucrative events throws a lifeline to struggling fan favorites (like Rickie Fowler) that other criteria—the world golf ranking—would not.
To defuse dissent, there’s a sop to those who labor below deck on the good ship Tiger: a guaranteed minimum of $500,000 a year to meet the costs associated with competing. Manna for some, meaningless to most. You’d have to scroll through 164 names on this season’s money list to find a player who failed to reach that earnings threshold.
But the gravy doesn’t drip down to the developmental Korn Ferry Tour, the chief pathway to the main circuit. Nor was there news about fast tracking top amateurs onto the Tour. That leaves an opening for LIV to grab the rising talent pipeline, but that would require a strategy of developing talent rather than paying a premium for established stars. There’s no real evidence of that long-term game plan from LIV.
For all the specifics offered, questions remain. Monahan said none of the Tour stops elevated for stars will be held outside the U.S., which suggests he has abandoned plans for three lucrative overseas events. That risks leaving the world stage to LIV and turning the PGA Tour into essentially an American company that exports content rather than the game. These are issues the Tour will need to address.
The notion that guys who left for LIV will experience buyer’s remorse and look longingly at the bountiful paradise Monahan promised his stars today is probably overstated. Most simply wouldn’t benefit under the Tour’s new system for reasons of eroded competitiveness, physical frailty or apathy. Not that they’ll have the option. Monahan was asked if he would lift the suspension on a LIV player who wanted to dismount from the Saudis and saddle up again with his old colleagues.
“No,” he said flatly. “As I’ve been clear throughout, every player has a choice, and I respect their choice, but they’ve made it. We’ve made ours.”
In the case of Cameron Smith, much depends on whether the choice has already been made. Rumors suggest the world No. 2 will soon decamp to LIV. Today’s announcement makes his reported price—$100 million—seem a poor return given what a player of his caliber could earn on the PGA Tour in the coming years, and without the reputational harm that comes with taking guaranteed cash to sportswash Saudi atrocities. But on a single word do such decisions turn. In this case, that word is “earn.”
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