PGL offers DJ, Rose $30 million each (***MERGED***)

[soregongolfer]

6 hours ago, Stevens24 said:

Well first it will take 2 years before the PGL is qualified for World Ranking points.

second- The tour came out and said you are expelled from the PGA tour if you sign up. Period no exception

I am guessing that Augusta would follow suit, So that means you likely aren't playing in Majors. 

 

This is not going anywhere, like the Super League in soccer

 

Maybe.  The Super League in soccer is a different animal because all of the teams involved come from socialist countries.  The fans, especially those from other teams, were mad about this being a money grab.  Money grabs aren't seen with the same disdain here in the states.  

 

As for Augusta, do you really think they will ban the top 50 players in the world?  The Masters will turn into a Korn Ferry stop on a pretty course.  

[hunterdog]

7 hours ago, grm24 said:

It wasn't televised. Tough to watch it that way.

You made my point. It wasn’t televised because people don’t want to watch the JV squad and sponsors are not going to shell out big bucks for an event that people are not going to watch.  At that point, televised golf becomes an even more niche sport programming played by people that even fewer people have heard of or care about.  It’ll be right there with televised professional bowling and fishing.  
 

Meanwhile, the “Varsity Squad” purportedly headlined by the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ricky Fowler, Henrick Stenson, Adam Scott, etc. (a group that hasn’t won jack in years) will make a bunch of guaranteed money, probably play crappy, and no one will care about because, at some point, viewers want to see quality golf, and there will be little “star power” to feed the system because viewers won’t be paying attention to the JV squad.

Edited May 6, 2021 by hunterdog
Grammar

[peepee]

3 hours ago, soregongolfer said:

Maybe.  The Super League in soccer is a different animal because all of the teams involved come from socialist countries.  The fans, especially those from other teams, were mad about this being a money grab.  Money grabs aren't seen with the same disdain here in the states.  

 

As for Augusta, do you really think they will ban the top 50 players in the world?  The Masters will turn into a Korn Ferry stop on a pretty course.  

England, Italy, Spain, Socialist countries 🙂 Wow havent heard something as funny as this in years.

Edited May 6, 2021 by peepee

[Ghostwedge]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:04 PM, golfandfishing said:

I know Rose is a world class player, but does anyone tune in to watch him?  I’m not sure he’s a draw in terms of getting the PGL in front of viewers, advertisers, etc. if I drew him in a pro-am I’d be less than excited. 

Tough crowd... you'd be "less than excited" to draw Rose in a Pro Am ?

What it's TW, DJ or nothing ?

[Ghostwedge]

On 5/4/2021 at 1:49 PM, bscinstnct said:

The offer to Rose is a great deal for Rose assuming he can still play all the majors. I think he still lives in the UK primarily so the travel is less brutal. 
 

DJ? It’s close, maybe, but can he stomach the travel? If it’s just a few times a year and he can play majors, just maybe.

 

But for the guys in the top-10 and under 30. Too much risk vs reward, I imagine. 
 

Let’s say you’re JT. You prolly makin like 20MM a year in endorsements alone. That’s tied to your performance on the PGA Tour. 
 

How would sponsors know that him playing the PGL is going to gain anywhere near as much exposure and TV time?

Rose lives in the Bahamas.

[Tasals]

11 hours ago, Stevens24 said:

Well first it will take 2 years before the PGL is qualified for World Ranking points.

second- The tour came out and said you are expelled from the PGA tour if you sign up. Period no exception

I am guessing that Augusta would follow suit, So that means you likely aren't playing in Majors. 

 

This is not going anywhere, like the Super League in soccer

 

Why would Augusta follow. The Masters is The Masters and they do their own thing. Everyone knows The Masters and its position in golf isnt in question. You think the PGL is going to try and start an event during the first full week in April? I dont see them being threatened by another golf league. Additionally you have to think that some of the CEOs and other members at Augusta would be more than happy to vote to allow PGL players in the tournament if it increases kickbacks or business opportunities in Saudi.

 

The US Open is run by the USGA, they wont ban PGL players. They dont really have a dog in this fight.

 

The R&A with the British Open already has a bunch of ties with Euro players playing in Saudi Arabia so I dont see them cutting off the players either.

 

Youre left with the PGA Championship which is pretty lowly regarded by the viewing public. I can see them fully keeping PGL guys out as a power move, but I can then just as easily see the PGL trying to use that to their own advantage and create their own Major.

 

I think we will see it start up and see who they can poach for a tournament or two (probably small invitational events), spend a bunch of money, and then disappear. Its kinda like the XFL, it pops up form time to time and then fizzles out. Though I think the XFL has more of a chance of sticking around next time than the PGL.

[golfandfishing]

23 minutes ago, Ghostwedge said:

Tough crowd... you'd be "less than excited" to draw Rose in a Pro Am ?

What it's TW, DJ or nothing ?

Not at all, I can think of about a dozen club pros I’d rather play with than Justin Rose. Doesn’t have anything to do with his ability, his personality is just completely uncompelling. 

[golfandfishing]

2 hours ago, hunterdog said:

You made my point. It wasn’t televised because people don’t want to watch the JV squad and sponsors are not going to shell out big bucks for an event that people are not going to watch.  At that point, televised golf becomes an even more niche sport programming played by people that even fewer people have heard of or care about.  It’ll be right there with televised professional bowling and fishing.  
 

Meanwhile, the “Varsity Squad” purportedly headlined by the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ricky Fowler, Henrick Stenson, Adam Scott, etc. (a group that hasn’t won jack in years) will make a bunch of guaranteed money, probably play crappy, and no one will care about because, at some point, viewers want to see quality golf, and there will be little “star power” to feed the system because viewers won’t be paying attention to the JV squad.

Possible guys like Fowler, Patrick Rodgers, etc see this as an opportunity to collect? A ban from the PGA Tour probably doesn’t really scare those guys - “you gonna ban me from a tour where I can’t win anyway? No biggie.”

[dcmidnight]

TGC noted this morning its now called the Super Golf League. LOL, because the last Super League worked out so well you definitely want to have a similar name...

 

They also said they heard its 10 to 12 teams of 4 players each, 10 is definitely a lower number than I've heard. So you're talking about as few as 40 guys playing in each event - its the ultimate uber-limited field, money grab exhibition series. I think its hilarious that people assume this will be great golf and will be the best playing the best.

 

Look I have watched every exhibition match they have put on in the last couple years but I'm a degenerate and they were one round each. There's no way I'm watching multiple days of the same ultra-small fields.

[dcmidnight]

Just now, golfandfishing said:

Possible guys like Fowler, Patrick Rodgers, etc see this as an opportunity to collect? A ban from the PGA Tour probably doesn’t really scare those guys - “you gonna ban me from a tour where I can’t win anyway? No biggie.”

 

Exactly - and thats who they will end up with. Or the mid-pack Euro Tour guys who I absolutely cannot name without looking them up, guys who cant win over there and have no intentions of moving to the States to play the PGA Tour, they could probably be enticed fairly cheaply - comparatively.

[MtlJeff]

I'm not really interested in watching a team golf / Money grab...

 

I like the PGA tour just fine in terms of rules and competition. I don't know that "golf" is the issue here. If someone is gonna usurp the tour they just need to pay them better and then market it better

[golfandfishing]

4 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

 

Exactly - and thats who they will end up with. Or the mid-pack Euro Tour guys who I absolutely cannot name without looking them up, guys who cant win over there and have no intentions of moving to the States to play the PGA Tour, they could probably be enticed fairly cheaply - comparatively.

I can see that - no cut events against a bunch of other guys they jockey with every Friday to see who can get that coveted 8 way T59 would be pretty attractive. In the old days of the PGA Tour this was known as The Michelob Classic, Buick Southern Open and the Hardee’s Classic. Big names had taken a break after the PGA and would play again at the Tour Championship, leaving that stretch for guys scrapping for a card or their first win. 

[dcmidnight]

6 minutes ago, golfandfishing said:

I can see that - no cut events against a bunch of other guys they jockey with every Friday to see who can get that coveted 8 way T59 would be pretty attractive. In the old days of the PGA Tour this was known as The Michelob Classic, Buick Southern Open and the Hardee’s Classic. Big names had taken a break after the PGA and would play again at the Tour Championship, leaving that stretch for guys scrapping for a card or their first win. 

 

IMO when they keep getting pushback from the PGA, this is how they get off the ground. If they just want to have a few events next year to have a few events, they drop big checks on guys who literally could not turn the money down. Might not be anyone you've heard of, but the SGL could definitely run some events next year if they really wanted to.

[bscinstnct]

55 minutes ago, Ghostwedge said:

Rose lives in the Bahamas.

 

🤣

 

 

[golfortennis]

7 hours ago, huskydawg said:

Another twist not mentioned yet is the tax-exempt status of the PGA Tour.  Not to get too political but a lot of players and organizers sure make a lot of money for a supposed nonprofit organization (112 players earned over $1 million in 2019.)  In some instances, the charity actually loses money, like Shriner's has done.  If the next tax reform bill pulls the TOUR's tax exemption, their leverage in this weakens considerably.  The money making scheme becomes crippled and the players could be more tempted jump ship rather than take the pay cut.

 

This is where I've always kind of gone.  I've always said the 501(c)3 is an unspoken advantage.  No one has yet been able to explain to me if the European Tour events are structured this way. 

[tungstenplug]

At the very least I hope the PGA Tour leans in to some of these ideas for themselves. Less meaningless, redundant events (there are 50 this year!), more variety of courses, better viewing experience

Edited February 26, 2023 by tungstenplug

[Mustard_Tiger]

I'm surprised some folks here are taking this seriously. I give this as much chance to succeed as the European Super League and Greg Norman's world golf plan from the 1990's.

 

On the plus side for PGA Tour players this will cause the Tour to funnel more cash their way.

[dcmidnight]

3 minutes ago, tungstenplug said:

The original proposal was:

 

- 18 global events (10 in USA, 3 in Europe, 3 in Asia, 1 in Australia, 1 in Middle East). Meaning it would primarily be a U.S. based Tour

 

- 48 players per event. Stroke play with a team component (12 teams of 4, with each team having 1 "principal" or captain who can choose before the round which of his teams 2 scores he will keep for that round. Adds a layer of team drama. Imagine if a player is not selected and he goes and shoots 62). All players play every round and all scores count toward the Individual champion for the event. The team component is a season-long race with a huge prize $$$ bonus

 

- "The courses will be diverse & global to find a true World Champion golfer who has beaten the best, on difficult courses, in unique conditions & different countries"  In other words, they don't want to play at XYZ Country Club every week with a winning score of -18

 

- "Having the best play the best, more often, around the world adds a different and exciting dimension to the game, and we hope to partner with existing professional tours for the good of the game"  Jay Monahan says No Thanks!

 

- The schedule would be built around the Majors, which they referred to as "sacred"

 

- They also mentioned pace of play being a priority, as well as letting players come together to decide a dress code and things of that nature

 

- The most interesting thing to me was the statements they made regarding TV viewing. Current golf events run from say 7am to 7pm and the TV networks only show a few hours, 2pm-6pm for example. They want to make the viewing experience second to none, cameras on every hole/group and the ability to choose which players and group you want to follow. ShotLink on every hole, etc.  For anyone tired of hearing Nick Faldo and Dottie Pepper make us all yawn, this is intriguing. And with only 48 players on the course it's much more fathomable 

 

Some of these proposals may have changed in the past year, I'm not privy to that info, but this is the main idea of what the tour was intended to be as of early 2020

 

 

I support the PGA Tour and hope to see it thrive. With that being said, some of these ideas make a lot of sense to me as a fan of pro golf and sports in general. I can't help but wonder if the source of the funding wasn't from the Middle East, would this Tour have more fan support?

 

At the very least I hope the PGA Tour leans in to some of these ideas for themselves. Less meaningless, redundant events (there are 50 this year!), more variety of courses, better viewing experience

 

 

The cynic in me would say that 90% of what you wrote describes exactly what the PGA Tour is right now.

 

And the other 10% are things they are slowly working on. Like dress code (lol - this is really an important thing?), Shotlink at every tournament (I think two events had it this year) etc.

[bscinstnct]

6 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

 

The cynic in me would say that 90% of what you wrote describes exactly what the PGA Tour is right now.

 

And the other 10% are things they are slowly working on. Like dress code (lol - this is really an important thing?), Shotlink at every tournament (I think two events had it this year) etc.

 

Yeah, golf is a bit of a challenge to get this all set up for. 
 

But you know, with all the cash they got, they should do the exact same thing.

 

But for...

 

Wrestling!

 

 

 

 

[Frankensteins Monster]

11 hours ago, bscinstnct said:

 

I could see certain ex-USFl owners getting involved with this, lol

 

But I don’t think Augusta is for sale at any price. Heck, the members could probably raise a Trillion bucks if they needed to. 
 

PB is owned by 100 US businessmen and prominent Americans who purchased, in part,  it to insure did not fall into the hands of corporate greed. Much less foreign owned corporate greed.

 

Among the consortium was Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, Pete Ueberroth and Charles Schwab. 
 

I don’t think Clint is selling to the Saudis ; )

I don't think Clint knows what day it is.

[tungstenplug]

On 5/6/2021 at 10:26 AM, dcmidnight said:

 

The cynic in me would say that 90% of what you wrote describes exactly what the PGA Tour is right now.

 

And the other 10% are things they are slowly working on. Like dress code (lol - this is really an important thing?), Shotlink at every tournament (I think two events had it this year) etc.

 

You aren't wrong, but I just can't get over the fact that there are what seems to be 2 separate PGA Tours. The 15 events at elite courses that every top player plays, and then the other 35 events that pale in comparison

Edited February 26, 2023 by tungstenplug

[dcmidnight]

See I just disagree with the idea that the season is too long. I think the players season is as long as they want it to be, they play in the events they want and skip the ones they dont. Are some going to be more "star studded" than others? Of course.

 

But also ask yourself, what happens to the general golf economy itself if only the top 40-50 players are featured every single week? Guys in the 50-125-150 zone, thats what the wraparound season IMO is for. Introducing a whole new crop of players that maybe you didnt get coverage of in the other events because they arent getting starts.

 

I dont laugh these events off at all nor do I care what the ratings are. I dont need - or want - every event to be the Players Championship.

 

I guess my question would be why it bothers people - why dont they just not watch if the wraparound events dont interest them.

 

 

[Bdck]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:30 PM, Abh159 said:

No one is just handing out $30 million without a ton of strings attached to it. I'm guessing that money comes with a bunch of requirements outside of just playing in X number of events.

 

There would be a boatload of other appearances, mandatory meet and greets, and etc. that I'm sure they would be required to do. I imagine all the extra stuff would end up causing a player to spend 1/3 - 1/2 their time oversees and away from the family which I don't see them being on board with. 

The Saudis love a good gamble.  Don't assume they aren't just trying to go all in and make the PGA tour blink.

[jvincent]

Has the PGA Tour had any recent discussions about making every player play every tournament once every X years like I think they do in the LPGA?

[ChillyDipper]

I didn't see this posted - I will delete this if it has been.  New Article from Shipnuck:

https://thefirepitcollective.com/super-golf-leage/

 

[Guy In Lyon]

If that $50million is a signing fee, and the golfer is then able to win $1million or so by winning a tournament, then it's worth ditching the PGA Tour.

And, if they've offered Phil Mickelson $100millon and he turns it down, he's an idiot.

IMO of course.

[CaseyC]

8 minutes ago, ChillyDipper said:

I didn't see this posted - I will delete this if it has been.  New Article from Shipnuck:

https://thefirepitcollective.com/super-golf-leage/

 

 

from the article:   

 

 A deal was never consummated and now Saudi Arabia is making its own play with the Super Golf League. “They 100% stole our idea,” says the PGL investor, who hails from Europe.

 

This makes me laugh....🙂

[Guy In Lyon]

On 5/4/2021 at 7:30 PM, Abh159 said:

I imagine all the extra stuff would end up causing a player to spend 1/3 - 1/2 their time oversees and away from the family which I don't see them being on board with. 

$50million would be enough to off-set an awful lot of heartache.

[bscinstnct]

10 minutes ago, Guy In Lyon said:

$50million would be enough to off-set an awful lot of heartache.

Phil makes more than that a year.

 

Rory too? It’s close. Lots of guys make 20-30+
 

Would you quit a job at an established company for an unknown salary at a startup with no track record if they threw in a sign on bonus of one year of your current salary?

 

Oh, and it’s like 30% plus overseas travel. 

[doublehans]

4 hours ago, Tasals said:

Why would Augusta follow. The Masters is The Masters and they do their own thing. Everyone knows The Masters and its position in golf isnt in question. You think the PGL is going to try and start an event during the first full week in April? I dont see them being threatened by another golf league. Additionally you have to think that some of the CEOs and other members at Augusta would be more than happy to vote to allow PGL players in the tournament if it increases kickbacks or business opportunities in Saudi.

 

The US Open is run by the USGA, they wont ban PGL players. They dont really have a dog in this fight.

 

The R&A with the British Open already has a bunch of ties with Euro players playing in Saudi Arabia so I dont see them cutting off the players either.

 

Youre left with the PGA Championship which is pretty lowly regarded by the viewing public. I can see them fully keeping PGL guys out as a power move, but I can then just as easily see the PGL trying to use that to their own advantage and create their own Major.

 

I think we will see it start up and see who they can poach for a tournament or two (probably small invitational events), spend a bunch of money, and then disappear. Its kinda like the XFL, it pops up form time to time and then fizzles out. Though I think the XFL has more of a chance of sticking around next time than the PGL.

 

I agree Augusta isnt beholden to follow the PGAT. Same for the other majors. 

 

The tricky part is right now world rankings are an impt part of the qualification criteria. So if these events arent recognized for rankings points, thats a big piece of leverage. Thats the power. Recognized events are the primary path majors. Maybe not for auto-qualifiers like phil. But for plenty of other guys. Augusta et al could change their invite criteria of course, but getting to that point basically assumes the SGL won this fight anyway. Like it or not, the majors will be forced to choose sides here.

Edited May 6, 2021 by doublehans