The end-of-year celebrations did not bring a smile to everyone's face.
At least not to Paul McGinley, who is upset about the situation golf has been in since the emergence of the LIV.
ADVERTISEMENT
Indeed, in the interview given to Irish Golfer, the Irishman once again lists the many clouds gathering on the horizon.
The golf product is diluted, a consequence of the scattering of the game's stars across several circuits. The latter are, as we have already mentioned, the big winners of the golf fracture born of the Circuit Wars.
Paul McGinley, statements
"The players who went to the LIV were paid a lot of money, play tournaments with reduced fields and for $25 million each time, so of course they are happy. On the PGA Tour or the DP World Tour, prize money has doubled or even tripled in an attempt to retain players and prevent them from giving in to the advances of the Saudis. "
The exodus of big players has made the tournaments on the historic circuits less attractive. TV audiences are down and sponsors are reluctant to re-engage when the authorities are unable to guarantee the presence of a particular player.
ADVERTISEMENT
Even the Majors, which are now the only tournaments to bring together all the best players in the world, have recorded a drop in audience figures.
"The business model has reached its limits and, with audience figures falling, how much longer will sponsors and partners be prepared to pay the increasing sums demanded of them when there is no clarity on what the future holds for them? The power of the players who push for increased prize money is enormous. Even the PGA Tour is on a tightrope, insists McGinley, who takes the opportunity to point out that the two tournaments that have generated the most enthusiasm in recent months have been the 2023 Ryder Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympic golf event at Le Golf National.
The way we consume golf has also changed a lot and this reinforces the Dublin natives concerns. Video summaries and tournament clips posted on social networks are more appealing than the long broadcasts we have become accustomed to.
ADVERTISEMENT
We must deprive players of the possibility of choosing their tournaments. Players must give up this independent status.
In the current situation, no circuit can solve this economic equation. Everyone is a loser apart from the players who seem to be completely disinterested in the future of golf in the medium term.
Worse, for the Irishman, the disruption following the arrival of the LIV has brought nothing beneficial. It simply allows us to challenge a system of circuit governance that has not changed for 50 years.
With their independent status that does not bind them to any circuit, the players (the best ones) have almost all the power.
It is this omnipotence that McGinley wants to challenge.
"We need to dilute and no longer completely give up power to the players. We need to deprive players of the ability to choose their tournaments. I am going against what my peers think and what I myself have benefited from in my career, but the players must give up this independent status. You cannot develop a business if you do not know what you are selling."
ADVERTISEMENT
A vision that is becoming increasingly clear since it was also Pascal Grizot's position, when he mentioned his ambitious project to create a global circuit in our columns a few weeks ago. "We need to contract new players like in tennis.
Like the President of the French Golf Federation, McGinley fears that the DP World Tour will pay the price.
While he believes that the decision to join the more reliable American circuit rather than commit to the Saudis, when Covid emerged, was the right solution, he fears that he will pay the price of the clash between the two financial behemoths that are the PGA Tour and the LIV.
The former player remains convinced, however, that Guy Kinnings, the new boss of the European Tour Group, has a role to play. "I am following the negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia very closely and I have full confidence in the European Tour Board to ensure that we are included in any new vision for professional golf. It is in good hands."
ADVERTISEMENT
A way of ending on a hopeful note after having painted a very bleak picture.
