The DP World Tour, until now, has not often been mentioned when the PGA Tour-Public Investment Fund negotiations are discussed.
The key players, mostly, are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, members of the Strategic Sports Group such as John Henry and Arthur Blank, PGA Tour players like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, which funds LIV Golf.
Obviously there are more folks involved behind the scenes on all sides. But rarely is there a mention of the other tour involved.
The DP World Tour, which has a strategic alliance with the PGA Tour, is believed to have once turned down an offer from the PIF and was prominently named in the “framework agreement” that was shockingly announced in June 2023.
But rarely has any of the DP World Tour’s leadership been mentioned, which understandably led to concerns about whether the European-based circuit was being left behind.
Perhaps that was all misunderstood. Or maybe things are changing.
Guy Kinnings, the CEO of the DP World Tour who took over for Keith Pelley earlier this year, was at the recent meetings in New York between the parties. And even though there is no role for the DP World Tour in this week’s Presidents Cup, Kinnings is expected to be in Montreal where more meetings could take place.
It was Kinnings who revealed earlier this year in a session with reporters just after officially taking over that all of the parties involved had yet to sit together in the same room.
“I left those meetings seeing firsthand there in the room with all the right organizations, the right parties, with the right mindset, a sense of positivity from all parties involved to try and find a solution which would be good for the game,” Kinnings said during an interview session Friday with reporters at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth outside of London. “Long way to go. A lot of detail, complicated stuff to be done.
“But that has to be a good thing for all of us. We all have to hope that that can succeed and, if that can succeed, then there are a lot of things ... that can get resolved.
“Obviously we know the PGA Tour extremely well, we work with them on a daily basis, but now knowing and working closely with Strategic Sports Group and Fenway (Sports) and guys like that, and also with Public Investment Fund, what you're doing is talking to the parties who, if they do come together, then you've got the right people to make something happen that I think will be really exciting for the game.”
Kinnings confirmed a Sports Illustrated report last week that had the LIV Golf League attempting to reach a deal with the DP World Tour that would wipe out fines for LIV players in violation of tour conflicting-events rules in exchange for scheduling assurances, their appearances in DP World Tour events and a monetary amount to help with purses.
The offer was declined and Kinnings said it was due to the parties involved, including the PGA Tour.
“There was an approach, absolutely, by LIV,” he said. “But, at the end of the day, we're talking about a big discussion that requires all of the organizations. It will be so inappropriate to be off having a conversation, kind of a piecemeal thing while those discussions are going on, that involve just a couple of the parties.
“So we were very clear. We said, ‘Listen, we are always happy to listen to people and talk to everyone and whatever else, but it's got to be part of the big picture that's seeking to resolve the whole of the game.’”
Where that stands remains unclear.
Rory McIlroy said last week that he believed the U.S. Department of Justice was one factor in the long process as well as “differing opinions of the players.”
McIlroy suggested that as many as 50% of the players on both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League are not in favor of a deal that would, in theory, unify the league.
Michael Kim was one who stepped up to say he’s not in favor of a deal, suggesting that it wouldn’t change much for him.
The one-time PGA Tour winner who was a college teammate of Max Homa’s at the University of California said on X (formerly Twitter) that a deal will only help the top players.
Do I want a deal?
— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) September 18, 2024
My short answer is No but I don’t care much.
Whether the tour and LIV make a deal or not, it will not affect my bottom line. It won’t change my schedule in the slightest bit and won’t change my earnings. This realistically only affects the top 30ish golfers on… https://t.co/ReOQTyRYOa
“Whether the tour and LIV make a deal or not, it will not affect my bottom line,” Kim wrote. "It won’t change my schedule in the slightest bit and won’t change my earnings. This realistically only affects the top 30ish golfers on the PGA Tour and that they’ll probably make more money after this deal.”
Kim said he doubted having the best players in the world playing more often would create a big shift in TV ratings. “You can make the argument that if the players come back, it’ll be better for the PGA Tour, and bring more interest but I find that hard to believe.
"It’s not gonna be a big mashup, it’s only going to be for a few events with a big purse if I were to guess. How many LIV guys actually affect ratings and events? Phil (Mickelson), Bryson (DeChambeau), (Jon) Rahm?
"Will it increase ratings and earnings by more than 1%? Sure the first couple events would be cool but after that? I might be totally wrong but that’s my opinion. What’ll make a much bigger difference is how to make the TV product much better.”
Kim is among those who believe the LIV defectors need to pay some penalty to come back, a notion that is scoffed at in many circles due to the huge investment the PIF would be making into the PGA Tour Enterprises. If the PIF invests $1 billion or more it is difficult to conceive that there would be massive penalties enforced at a time when the goal is peace.
But that sentiment is real. Kim’s point is that 11 of the players who went to LIV Golf sued the PGA Tour.
"I just think there needs to be consequence to their decision to leave and SUE the tour,” he said. "You can call that petty but the LIV guys sued the PGA Tour mainly for their PIP (Player Impact Program) money. The same PGA Tour that was the reason why you even got the big payday in the first place. That’s just as petty in my eyes.
"FYI, just because there’s a deal doesn’t mean every LIV guy gets full status on the PGA Tour. There’s gonna be very limited crossover.”
We’ll see how that plays out, but it does give some insight into why putting a deal together is hardly simple.
Rahm, Spain and fines
Jon Rahm was sick over the weekend and unable to compete in the LIV Golf League Team Championship in Dallas. He had previously suggested that he would go home to Arizona following the event, with the possibility that his wife, Kelley, is induced. She is expecting a baby soon. And Rahm is scheduled to play in this week’s Spanish Open in Madrid, along with next week’s Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
All of that was made possible when Rahm appealed his fines to the DP World Tour, which effectively puts off any kind of penalties. DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings last week was hit with numerous questions on the topic, as it also applies to LIV player Tyrrell Hatton.
“The one thing we can try and do is be consistent and stick with the rules,” Kinnings said. “These are the rules—they haven’t changed. People, if they work within the rules, then they have the opportunity to do things, and that's why you've got players playing in tournaments, which I'm glad they are. I'm pleased Jon is playing in Spain—delighted to have him playing in his national open, and you have other guys working within the rules and playing.”
The big question, of course, is what happens if their appeals are denied? And then might those appeals be heard?
Last year, the DP World Tour won a U.K. arbitration panel case that allows the circuit to enforce its penalty structure of competing in conflicting events. The sense is that, for that reason, the appeals will be denied. And it’s not even clear when the appeals would be heard.
“There's no fixed formula, so we’ll just have to wait and see how long it takes to reach that appeal process,” Kinnings said of the process, which could last well into next year. “The very clever lawyers who work for people will kind of handle all of that and, in the interim, the most important thing that we are also doing is continuing to have the ongoing discussions about the future, and those may or may not have some impact in that process.”
That was an interesting way of saying—as has been in the case in so many things impacting the world of golf—that a resolution to the ongoing negotiations might make such matters irrelevant.
The “Nearly Man” again
Billy Horschel appeared almost embarrassed when his eagle putt dropped into the cup on the second playoff hole at Wentworth, thus giving him his second BMW PGA Championship title in three years—and thus excruciatingly denying Rory McIlroy another chance at victory.
The eagle lands for @BillyHo_Golf 💪
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 22, 2024
He makes eagle on the second play-off hole to beat McIlroy after the Northern Irishman made birdie. #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/QOnelwFomu
McIlroy’s close calls this year are among the stories of the year in golf. His runner-up finish to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open. The great flurry on the back nine at the Olympics, only to find water and miss a medal. The second-place finishes in consecutive weeks now on the DP World Tour, including the Irish Open in his home country of Northern Ireland.
As great as the win was for Horschel, who has taken great pleasure in playing more overseas, it was another cruel blow for McIlroy.
“I think he’s the best player in 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 has the most crowds and supporters outside of Tiger Woods. He’s great for the game of golf.”
Somewhat lost in all of the difficulty of late is McIlroy’s overall record, which has seen him win more than 40 times worldwide, including 26 on the PGA Tour—the most of any active player not named Woods. He’s been a top-five player in the world for a majority of the last 15 years.
McIlroy was two shots behind when he eagled the 17th at Wentworth to tie for the lead. A birdie at the 18th would have won but he hit a poor approach shot—he noted he was fortunate to avoid the water—and settled for par. He then birdied the hole twice in the playoff, only to have Horschel beat him with an eagle.
“It’s golf and I’m playing well,” McIlroy said. “These things happen. It’s just the game is testing me a little more than it has has done in the past but that’s just fine. All I can do is keep showing up and trying to play the golf that I’ve been playing and soon or later it’s going to end up in a win.
“The nice thing is there’s next year and the year after that and the year after. If you think of my career as a 30-year journey, it’s only one year in a 30-year journey and hopefully the other 29 are a little more productive or a ittle bit better. I have certainly had years where I’ve felt worse.”
McIlroy has three scheduled events left this year. He’ll play the Dunhill Links Championship next week in Scotland with his father. Then he’s down for the season-ending events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Forgotten Third Party in the Quest to Unify Pro Golf Has Entered the Chat.
