In a February 14 email to Rory McIlroy, chairman of the PGA Tour’s Player Advisory Council, and other PGA Tour leaders that was obtained by the Fire Pit Collective, the Premier Golf League laid out its plan for a series of events that would partner with various tours, feature massive paydays and give ownership stakes to members of the league.
The format consists of 18 events, with 12 teams of four players competing in team and individual championships that run simultaneously throughout the season. Purses would be worth $20 million, with an additional $1 million going to the winners of the team event. A winner-take-all prize of $20 million is also up for grabs to the winner of a season-ending team event.
As for the ownership stakes, the PGL would allocate 100 million shares to PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour players in a tiered system. PGA Tour members would get 50 percent of the shares, with 7.5 percent going to Korn Ferry members and 2.5 percent to DP World Tour members. The email stated the prospective value of the shares is $10 billion.
According to the Fire Pit Collective’s report, McIlroy presented the proposal to the board and the plan was discussed among PAC members at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship.
“Their proposal has been studied and scrutinized by an independent company to test its viability,” said Kevin Kisner, whose term on the PAC ended in 2022. “The results were presented to all of us. After extensively studying the (PGL’s) finances and the proposal, the (consultants) likened it to having to perform from a financial standpoint of 19 Ryder Cups per year. Not feasible.”
The full email can be found here.
