As Tiger Woods walked into the room for his pre-Hero World Challenge press conference, the assembled media – along with interested viewers around the world – waited with bated breath for an update on his health, his views on Ryder Cup payments and, perhaps most significantly, a briefing on the state of negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s PIF.
Tiger isn’t the most loquacious of men, but I was still hoping for more.
“I think all of us who have been a part of this process would have thought it would have happened quicker than this,” Woods said. “Even if it did, we're still at the regulations of the US Department of Justice. Even if we had gotten a deal done by now, it's still in the DOJ's hands. But we wish we would have had something more concrete and further along than we are right now.”
In terms of how the discussions are progressing, Woods added: “Things are very fluid, we're still working through it, it's happening daily. From a Policy Board standpoint or from an PGA Tour Enterprise standpoint, things are moving and they're constructive. But yes, definitely moving.”
I’ll stop you there. Have you heard any of this before? When the surprise ‘framework agreement’ between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF was announced in June 2023, the aim was for a resolution to be reached by the end of that year. We’re now 12 months beyond the initial deadline and all we’re hearing is the same old batch of non-committal platitudes.
“I think something will get done,” Woods added. “In what form or shape, I don't know yet.” In September, Rory McIlroy, another actively involved in the discussions, said: “Hopefully we'll be hearing some good news in the foreseeable future.” The translation? Nothing is imminent and the circus will continue to roll on.
The truth is that golf’s top players aren’t being negatively affected by the tumult. They still have tournaments to play in year-round and they’re being compensated better than ever. The divide actually helps them from a financial perspective.
Empty words
Meanwhile, fans continue to feel more and more disengaged. PGA Tour viewing figures have been concerning in 2024. On the DP World Tour side, I was sent the following from its communications department:
“The average live peak audience for the ‘Back 9’ events was 13% higher than for the same period 2023. For the two DP World Tour Play-off events (Abu Dhabi and DP World Tour Championship), the average live peak viewership on Sky Sports was up 17% compared to 2023, and the total average viewership for both events increased by 31% compared to 2023.”
The post-FedExCup months are the only part of the calendar the DP World Tour can exploit, so it’s pleasing to see year-on-year growth. However, I’d suggest the viewing figures from the months from February to August would paint a slightly bleaker picture.
“We're moving on the fly to try and give everyone the best product we possibly can and give the game peace that it needs,” said Woods. “This has been a very difficult time in the game of golf. I think that a lot of it has been distractions on the beauty of the game of golf and obviously we're trying to unify that and give the fans the best experience.”
Honestly, I’m sick of hearing those involved in negotiations talk about ‘the product’. They purport to care about the viewer but simultaneously show they don’t by incessantly chatting about money and stubbornly refusing to compromise.
Does improving the product actually mean finding ways to make the people at the top more money while convincing themselves that it’s for the greater good? Selfishness abounds right now and no one is prepared to give up a bite of the pie – even though they’re fully aware of the precarious position the men’s pro game finds itself in.
They see it as very black and white: my/our perceived worth is x and I/we won’t settle for any less than that. But worth is derived from interest, and waning eyeballs and increasing apathy will eventually impact investment. But we’re some way off that, and therein lies the problem.
Complex negotiations
The PIF won’t give ground to PGA Tour Enterprises – it’s bad for optics and they have almost limitless wealth. Similarly, what message would it send if the PGA Tour were to bow down and cede to the demands of an organisation that threatens its place atop the food chain?
More complicated is the fact Strategic Sports Group has come on board and invested as much as $3 billion into the PGA Tour. It presumably received certain guarantees and has its own best interests to look out for.
On a player level, there are clearly damaged fences that need fixing. LIV players, even if some want to come back, aren’t going to relinquish their wealth, while PGA Tour loyalists aren’t going to welcome them back with open arms and will need some form of sanctioning to feel placated.
And it’s quite clear those who stayed behind feel they should be compensated for doing so. Ever since LIV’s emergence, the narrative pushed by those with a vested interest has been that fans want to see the best players compete against each other more often.
This school of thought resulted in the signature events – which, quite frankly, are rubbish – and the Player Equity Programme, which adds extra thick lining to already gilded pockets. Don’t even get me started on the Player Impact Programme.
And now we have more changes to the PGA Tour’s structure. From 2025, there will be fewer cards available through Q-School and the Korn Ferry Tour, restrictions to the number of Monday qualifiers and, perhaps most significantly, field sizes are set to be reduced.
There’s also the looming presence of the Department of Justice and reports have circulated recently suggesting that LIV made an offer to the DP World Tour, which is in a ‘strategic alliance’ with the PGA Tour. And confusingly, some LIV players are able to compete in DP World Tour events while appealing fines handed out by the same organisation. It’s a mess.
Will anything change?
I really don’t like the direction of travel, or the fact that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has reportedly pocketed more than $10m in bonuses. Has he done a good job? I don’t think so, but he’s McIlroy’s staunchest ally and he’s increased funds for those at the top of the tree. Increasingly, that seems like all that matters. See the recent Ryder Cup payments debacle.
The cynic might say ‘why should the top players care about the bigger picture’? They always have tournaments to play and they’re as rich as they’ve ever been. And I suspect they genuinely believe the changes they’re implementing are improving the PGA Tour.
The only way to rectify the situation and increase viewership is to get the top players from the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and LIV competing on one tour. But it’s hard to see how all this gets resolved, especially given that next to nothing has happened in the 18 months since the framework agreement announcement.
If both sides continue to practice one-upmanship – and I haven’t seen, heard or read anything to suggest they won’t – then nothing will change.
The truth is men’s professional golf (outside the Majors) doesn’t excite me anymore and, if anything, it elicits negative emotions. That’s why I’m genuinely considering switching off until The Masters. I wonder how many other once-ardent fans feel the same way.
