A STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
This year will also see a new strategic alliance between the European and PGA Tours. In it, the PGA Tour has acquired a minority investment stake in European Tour Productions (ETP), the European Tour’s media production company, which produces and distributes content internationally.
The Tours will also work in partnership over a number of other areas, including global scheduling, prize funds and playing opportunities for the respective memberships. It will be the first year that three tournaments are to be co-sanctioned by the PGA and European Tours, meaning both Fedexcup and Race to Dubai points will be on offer to participants at the Barbasol Championship, the Barracuda Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open. We may well see more players featuring in the season-long contests on both circuits.
The influence of Saudi Arabia on professional golf looks set to remain a talking point in 2022 and beyond.
A key reason for that is the foundation of a new company called LIV Golf Investments (LGI), of which former World No. 1 Greg Norman has been named Chief Executive Officer.
LGI has penned a landmark deal that will see a series of ten new events staged annually on the Asian Tour over the next ten years, representing a total commitment of over $200 million to support playing opportunities and prize funds. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the majority shareholder in LGI. The source of the investment may be controversial, but LGI’S support for the Asian Tour will be a massive boost for elite golf in the Asia Pacific region and will play a significant role in growing the game globally.
There is speculation that the association between LGI and the Asian Tour is connected to the establishment of a Saudi-backed golf league. A source close to Golf
Monthly has confirmed the existence of a new league and that Greg Norman will be its commissioner. Rumours of a new league have been circulating for some time, but it now looks likely to come to fruition. If it does, and attracts enough of the top players, it could mean a significant shake-up of the way the season is structured at the top level of men’s professional golf.
The Asian Tour has also struck a ten-year partnership with Golf Saudi, the organisers of the Saudi International, which is now the flagship event on the Asian Tour. The 2022 Saudi International will feature the strongest field in the history of the Asian Tour when it is played at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, near Jeddah, in early February. Carrying a prize fund of $5 million, the starting line-up includes Bryson Dechambeau, Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Phil Mickelson, along with many other star names.
In addition, the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco is already a significant sponsor in the women’s game, with the Aramco Team Series offering $4 million in prize money. There’s also the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, won in 2021 by Lydia Ko.
The investment by Saudi Arabia’s PIF in sport has raised eyebrows, with many suggesting the country is ‘sportwashing’ to deflect from questions over its human rights record. Whatever the objective, it seems money talks and that, whether we like it or not, the Saudis will have a significant part to play in the immediate future of the professional game.