Saudi golf bonanza may spark moves towards a global circuit
We should know better than to expect proper analysis of a hideous cash grab by some of the world’s most high-profile golfers – Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, et al – as the European Tour shuffles into Saudi Arabia this week.
We should also be clear that every available strand of evidence suggests these sportsmen could barely care less what others think of the acceptance of appearance fees from a regime where human rights violations render “abhorrent” an understatement.
Saudi Arabia has had its eyes fixed on golf, a supposedly vulnerable market, for some time; March will see the inaugural Ladies Championship there, with a prize fund of $1m.
Recent days have seen Saudi Arabia and the European Tour caught up in – depending on one’s outlook – a perfect or imperfect storm. After years of working in the shadows, including under different names, Premier Golf League used the weekend to issue details of its plan to revolutionise the professional game from 2022.
The concept is simple enough: to draw 48 of the world’s top players away from existing tours and into an environment akin to Formula One. The numbers are eye-watering, with guaranteed cash of up to $25m per year believed to have been floated towards the sport’s luminaries.
“We estimate that it won’t cost more than $1bn to launch the League,” read a statement, implying the spending of pocket change. And make no mistake, the money is in place. The chances of this coming to pass remain slim but the plan is a concrete one.
Precisely where this vast resource comes from has been subject of timely debate. Premier Golf League has confirmed investment from the Raine Group, a well-known enterprise which counts UFC among its sporting interests. Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s commissioner, cited “Saudi interests” as also central in an email to players widely circulated by the US golf media this week. Three separate industry sources, unconnected to Monahan, have confirmed their belief to the Guardian that Premier Golf League and Saudi are connected. Premier Golf League has still not responded to Monday’s request for clarification.
Golf Saudi, the vehicle used by the country’s government to run events such as this weekend’s Saudi International, has insisted it has no involvement in Premier Golf League; which, of course, doesn’t preclude aligned bodies from working in the shadows.
Perhaps this is a PGA Tour ploy aimed at discrediting the new kid on the block. Maybe it is a genuine mistake. But what can be said with certainty is Premier Golf League has not immediately moved to distance itself from any notion of Saudi involvement, a theme which is hugely damaging in public relations terms.
Saudi’s desire to use golf for what Amnesty International has pointedly labelled “sportswashing” is abundantly apparent and yet, with no existing connection to the PGA Tour, it has bottomless wealth minus a global platform.
It’s unknown if Isaac Newton had any interest in golf but it can be said with certainty that such actions will prompt a reaction from the PGA Tour, a body not short of artillery.
When Premier Golf League directly referenced the PGA Tour, including its pension policy, in a weekend Q&A the response in Ponte Vedra was not favourable. In blunt terms, acceptance of this ground-breaking change would instantly relegate the PGA Tour to second fiddle.
Monahan’s hand will soon be further strengthened with the signing of a new, long-term television deal, expected to be with NBC, that will significantly increase revenues. The finer details of that contract are currently being negotiated. With a resurgent Tiger Woods pursuing a record number of wins, the PGA Tour is in a strong position.
Which is not to say it presides over the perfect model or, indeed, that a portion of Premier Golf League’s proposals are not actually valid. Indeed, some players are known to have been swayed by this promised land.
Those key protagonists are now in a terrific position, whereby dollar signs on contracts can expedite change at a Tour they generally don’t want to take flamethrowers to. It would be no shock at all if talks between the PGA Tour and its equivalent in Europe relating to a global circuit are expedited.
Given timing, the European Tour’s
attitude is the more fascinating. Amid widespread criticism, it “legitimised” Saudi Arabia’s involvement in golf by agreeing a tournament deal from 2019 onwards.
If there is a sense at its headquarters that Saudi has been simultaneously working to essentially relegate the European Tour to the third tier of golf, the taking of umbrage is natural.
Which members of the European Tour hierarchy appear at King Abdullah Economic City this week, for example, will be worth noting.
So, too, will be any sense of a breach in relations specifically linked to the European Tour’s $3.5m competition. Could short-term pain be of benefit to a long-term good on both sides of the Atlantic?
There will be little to admire over the coming days over a golf course in Saudi Arabia and, typically, precious few will turn up to admire it anyway. The Saudis seem to have no intention of going away; intrigue surrounds whether existing bodies have mutual appetite to all but make them.