Paul McGinley does not think the current PGA Tour model, which allows players to decide which tournaments they want to compete in, is sustainable.
The Golf Channel analyst spoke to Sky Sports, where he explained that the huge influx of money into the game since the emergence of LIV Golf means it’s not practical for PGA Tour pros to remain independent contractors.
He said: “I think as we've moved into the modern day, with billion-dollar TV contracts, media rights and multi-billion-dollar businesses that sport has become, particularly golf.
"I think we need to evolve away from being a members organization and that includes moving away from independent traders for players picking and choosing the tournaments they want to play in. For the good of the game.”
One of the ways the PGA Tour reacted to the emergence of LIV Golf was to introduce designated (now signature) events. In the 2023 season, players were only allowed to skip one of the elevated tournaments or risk missing out on their full entitlement of Player Impact Program (PIP) bonus money.
One player who fell foul of the policy was Rory McIlroy, who withdrew from the RBC Heritage having also skipped the Sentry Tournament of Champions (now The Sentry), which eventually saw him hit with a $3m penalty from his PIP bonus.
The policy was relaxed from the 2024 season, but McGinley explained why he thinks, in the modern era, it is impractical not to obligate the top players to tee it up.
"If it's going to be really run as a business and compete against the NBA, NFL, soccer etc, the administration needs to be more in control of the product,” he said. “It's very difficult to be in control of the product when you don't know who is playing and you're hoping the players are going to turn up.”
That’s one of the areas where LIV Golf differs from the PGA Tour, with players contracted and obliged to play in each of its events, and McGinley, who served on the DP World Tour board until 2023, thinks it was a good move.
"When it comes to big decisions on the boards, the players may have ultimate control. I think those two dynamics make it really difficult to push the game forward. It's one of the things that I think LIV have got right.
"I'm not saying pay the players less, but pay them differently. If they're contracted, and you know what you're selling, then it's a whole different conversation from the business of golf, if the administration goes out to a sponsor and says we would like you to sponsor for this amount of money and this is who we will give you in year one, this is who we will give you in year two etc.”
McGinley also thinks the top PGA Tour stars should play outside the US more. "I'd love to see Scheffler, Morikawa, Schauffele and those guys travel a bit more,” he said.
“They finish in the middle of August and, unless it's a Ryder Cup year, they don't play until January. I don't think that's a great dynamic for the game."
McGinley’s remarks came days after he revealed a proposal for unity between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. That included allowing the top 10 LIV golfers into PGA Tour five signature events and The Players Championship, with the more established circuit able to field two teams in LIV Golf’s season-closing Team Championship.
