Forgotten Third Party Joins Conversation in Quest to Unify Professional Golf

The DP World Tour has not been mentioned much in the PGA Tour-Public Investment Fund negotiations until now.

The major players are mostly members of the Strategic Sports Group, such as PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, John Henry and Arthur Blank. PGA Tour players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroyand Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF, which finances LIV Golf.

Obviously there are more people backstage all around, but there is rarely any mention of the other tour involved.

It is thought that the DP World Tour, which has a strategic partnership with the PGA Tour, once turned down an offer from the PIF and its name came forward in the “framework agreement” that was shockingly announced in June 2023.

But the DP World Tour’s leadership was rarely mentioned, understandably leading to concerns about whether the European-based circuit was being left behind.

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. Or maybe things are changing.

DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, who replaced Keith Pelley earlier this year, said: Last meetings in New York And while there is no role for the DP World Tour at this week’s Presidents Cup, Kinnings is expected to be in Montreal where more meetings could take place.

Kinnings told reporters in a meeting shortly after taking over earlier this year that all the relevant parties had not yet come together in the same room.

“I came away from those meetings seeing firsthand the right organizations in the room, the right parties, the right mindset, the positive feeling from all sides trying to find a solution that would be good for the game,” Kinnings said in an interview with reporters Friday at the BMW PGA Championship in Wentworth, outside London. “There’s a long way to go. There’s a lot of detail, a lot of complicated things to do.

“But it has to be a good thing for all of us. We have to hope that it is successful and if it is successful then there are a lot of things that can be solved.

“We know the PGA Tour very well, we work with them on a daily basis, but now we work closely with Strategic Sports Group and Fenway (Sports) and guys like that, and also the Public Investment Fund, what you do is you talk to those parties where if they come together, you have the right people to make something happen that I think would be really exciting for the game.”

Kinnings confirmed one thing Sports Illustrated It was reported last week that LIV Golf League is trying to reach an agreement with DP World Tour, he said This means that in exchange for the removal of fines imposed on LIV players who violated tour overlapping events rules, they will be paid a sum of money to help with scheduling guarantees, participation in DP World Tour events and prize pools.

Kinnings said the offer was rejected and added that it was up to the parties involved, including the PGA Tour.

“There was certainly an approach from LIV,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we are talking about a big debate that requires all the organisations. While these discussions are ongoing, it would be very inappropriate to have a piecemeal conversation involving just a few parties.

“So we were very clear. We said, ‘Listen, we’re always happy to listen to people and talk to everybody and whatever, but this needs to be part of the bigger picture of trying to figure out the whole game.'”

It is not yet clear what this means.

Rory McIlroy said last week: He believed the U.S. Department of Justice was a factor As in the long process, there are also “different opinions of the players”.

McIlroy suggested that 50 percent of players on both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League are against a deal that would theoretically merge the leagues.

Michael Kim was among those who said he was against the deal, implying that it wouldn’t change much for him.

The one-time PGA Tour winner, who was also a teammate of Max Homa at the University of California, Los Angeles, said on X (formerly Twitter) that a deal would only help the best players.

“Whether or not the Tour and LIV make a deal, it will not affect my net income,” Kim wrote. “It will not change my schedule in the slightest and it will not change my earnings. This realistically only affects the top 30 golfers on the PGA Tour, and they will likely make more money after this deal.”

Kim said he doubts the world’s best players playing more often will make a big difference in TV ratings. “You could argue that having players back would be better for the PGA Tour and would bring more attention, but I find that hard to believe.

“It’s not going to be a big deal, just a couple of events with a big prize if I were to guess. How many LIV guys are affecting the ratings and events? Phil (Mickelson), Bryson (DeChambeau), (Jon) Rahm?

“Will it increase ratings and earnings by more than 1%? Of course the first few events would be great, but after that? I could be completely wrong, but that’s just my opinion. What will make a much bigger difference is how to make the TV product much better.”

Kim is among those who believe that those who defect from LIV should pay a fine to return. That notion has been ridiculed in many circles because of the PIF’s large investment in PGA Tour Enterprises. If the PIF invests $1 billion or more, it’s hard to imagine large fines being imposed at a time when the goal is peace.

But the feeling is real. Kim’s point is that 11 of the players who went to LIV Golf have filed lawsuits against the PGA Tour.

“I think there should be some consequence to their decision to leave and SUE the tour,” he said. “You can call it petty, but the LIV team sued the PGA Tour essentially for PIP (Player Impact Program) money. The same PGA Tour that got you a big paycheck in the first place. In my eyes, that’s equally petty.

“FYI, just because there is an agreement does not mean that every LIV member will have full status on the PGA Tour. It will be a very limited transition.”

We’ll see how this plays out, but it does give some insight into why getting a deal done isn’t that simple.

Rahm, Spain and fines

Jon Rahm was sick over the weekend and could not race LIV Golf League Team Championship He is in Dallas. He had previously said he would fly home to Arizona after the event in case his wife, Kelley, went into labor. She is expecting a baby soon. And Rahm will play in the Spanish Open in Madrid this week and the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland next week.

This was all made possible by Rahm’s appeal of his suspensions, effectively suspending any punishments the DP World Tour has imposed. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings was faced with a raft of questions last week on the matter, including for LIV player Tyrrell Hatton.

“All we can try and do is be consistent and stick to the rules,” Kinnings said. “The rules are what they are – they haven’t changed. If people work within the rules, then they have an opportunity to do something and that’s why you have guys playing in tournaments, which I’m happy about. I’m happy with Jon playing in Spain – I’m happy with him playing in the national open and you have other guys working and playing within the rules.”

The big question, of course, is what happens if their objections are rejected. And then can those objections be heard?

Last year, the DP World Tour won a UK arbitration case that allowed the circuit to apply its penalty structure for competing in overlapping events. So there’s a sense that the appeals will be rejected. And it’s not even clear when the appeals will be heard.

“There’s no set formula, so we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes to get to that appeals process,” Kinnings said of the process, which could take until the end of next year. “There are very smart lawyers working for people who will sort all of this out, and in the meantime, the most important thing we do is continue to have ongoing discussions about the future, and that may or may not have an impact on this process.”

This was an interesting way of saying that, as with so many things affecting the golf world, a resolution in ongoing negotiations could render such issues irrelevant.

“Almost Man” again

Billy Horschel looked almost embarrassed when his eagle putt on the second playoff hole at Wentworth dropped into the cup, thus winning his second BMW PGA Championship title in three years and painfully denying Rory McIlroy another shot at victory.

McIlroy’s close calls this year are among the stories of the year in golf. The second-place finish to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open. The big nine-hole sweep at the Olympics, only to find water and miss out on a medal. The second-place finish on the DP World Tour for two weeks in a row, including the Irish Open in his home country of Northern Ireland.

As big a win as it was for Horschel, who thoroughly enjoyed playing abroad, it was another brutal blow for McIlroy.

“I think he’s the best player of our generation,” Horschel said of McIlroy. “He’s done so much for the game. You see the support he has here; you see the support he has around the world. He’s got the biggest crowds and supporters outside of Tiger Woods. He’s great for the game of golf.”

Somewhat lost in all the recent turmoil, McIlroy’s overall record has him with more than 40 wins worldwide, 26 of them on the PGA Tour, more than any other active player except Woods. He has been one of the world’s top five players for most of the past 15 years.

McIlroy was two shots behind when he tied the lead with an eagle on the 17th hole at Wentworth. He could have had a birdie on the 18th hole but hit a poor approach shot — he said he was lucky to stay out of the water — and settled for par. He then birdied twice on the hole in the playoff, but Horschel edged him with an eagle.

“This is golf and I’m playing well,” McIlroy said. “These things happen. It just tests me a little bit more than it has in the past, but that’s OK. All I can do is show up and try to play the golf that I play, and sooner or later it’s going to result in a win.

“The nice thing is, it’s next year and the year after that and the year after that. If you think of my career as a 30-year journey, it’s just one year in a 30-year journey, and hopefully the other 29 years are a little more productive or a little better. There were definitely years where I felt worse.”

McIlroy has three events remaining this year. He will play the Dunhill Links Championship with his father in Scotland next week, then he will take part in the season-ending events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.