The world of men’s professional golf awoke last Monday morning to the news: The Asian Tour announced that more than 20 PGA Tour players, including some of the brightest stars in the game, had committed to play in the Saudi Invitational in February 2022. No player has yet received a proper release from the PGA Tour to allow for such participation, but the Asian Tour proclaimed that they were in and suggested that there will be more to come.
This appears to be nothing less than a direct coordinated assault on the PGA Tour. As such, it’s on between Golf Saudi, the Asian Tour’s banker, and the PGA Tour. As Callaway golf chief executive officer Chip Brewer told the Financial Times recently, “I’m not sure it’s a cold war; I think it’s a hot war.”
This first volley is about participation in a specific event – the Saudi Invitational. But make no mistake, it is about much more than that. It has to do with Golf Saudi’s bigger ambitions to build a rival tour to the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. The sport may be in for a years-long legal fight revolving around the issue of monopolistic power in the men’s professional game.
As the saga of Golf Saudi seeking to become a part of the pro golf ecosystem has unfolded in recent months, there has been a sense that the new entity would like nothing more than to have its day in an American courtroom in front of a judge. The organization is believed to have lawyered up accordingly.
Their case can be expected to be as follows: The PGA Tour is a monopoly, controlling the men's professional game and it is structured in such a way as to preserve its position, essentially excluding any potential challengers. The argument will be that this is illegal exclusionary conduct.
The PGA Tour position can be expected to be this: That it is a non-profit players association run for the benefit of the members (PGA Tour players) by the members. It makes its own rules, and those who seek to join the organization are required to observe those rules. No professional is required to join the organization, and pro golfers are free to ply their trade elsewhere should they choose.
“ ... It is better for the sport if the competition remains healthy and respectful, as opposed to hostile, as all parties look at new ways to benefit this great game.”
Majed Al-Sorour, Golf Saudi CEO
Thus far PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has yet to speak to anyone associated with Golf Saudi. And this has led several executives to whom I have spoken in recent months, and who are close to the pro game, scratching their heads. The line of reasoning is that if somebody wants to invest $2.5 billion dollars in the game, officials from the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour should sit down and have a conversation.
The PGA Tour would counter that Golf Saudi has acted in bad faith by setting up shop in South Florida and trying to recruit players and woo agents. They also will point to a meeting that took place at the 2021 PGA Championship, where Golf Saudi representatives put on a full-court press. Sources reported that the presentation was poorly received from those in attendance, resulting in a lackluster response. It eventually dawned on the agents that what they really wanted was for one player to cross the line, get banned, and provide the opportunity to sue the PGA Tour.
Had Golf Saudi approached the golf ecosystem in a different manner, instead of attempting to end run it, perhaps there would be meaningful dialogue between the various parties.
DP World Tour chief executive officer Keith Pelley has said that he believes there is a place for Golf Saudi in the ecosystem. However, the place that Pelley envisions is not at all what the Saudis seek. With their money, they want to be top dog, starting right away.
There was an interesting choice of words in the Asian Tour news release that announced the expected participants in Saudi Arabia. Majed Al-Sorour, chief executive officer of Golf Saudi, is quoted as saying, “All we will say is that it is better for the sport if the competition remains healthy and respectful, as opposed to hostile, as all parties look at new ways to benefit this great game.” Al-Sorour seems to believe that by ignoring Golf Saudi and threatening a player ban, the PGA Tour is acting in a hostile manner.
The tour would suggest that, by trying to poach players from an extremely successful 50-plus-year-old pro golf entity, Golf Saudi is the hostile one in this drama. Building a business by hacking another business is, in the eyes of the PGA Tour, a hostile maneuver.
I consulted a corporate attorney with whom I have shared many rounds of golf and he observed that, should this case proceed legally, the Saudis have an uphill challenge. Antitrust cases are hard to advance, and the Saudis would have a difficult time establishing standing in America. They desperately need a tour player of prominence to be willing to risk his career and take on the PGA Tour. That’s a big ask.
Our honorable game seems destined for difficult times in the months and years to come. The action seems to be headed to legal conference rooms and court chambers rather than fairways and greens.
The voices opposed to the disruptive approach are firm and important. Rory McIlroy is firmly opposed to the Saudi initiative, calling it a “money grab.” As the conscience of the PGA Tour, his voice matters. So too does the voice of Tiger Woods, who last week came out firmly in support of the PGA Tour and Monahan.
It should be pointed out that despite McIlroy’s intention not to join a rival tour, he did come out last week in favor of loosening the player release policy. As chairman of the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council, his words have influence. I am not sure anyone saw that statement coming in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
At a moment in time where participation in the game has skyrocketed, it need not be this way. If the disruptors honored the code of the game and chose to be additive, this could be an important positive global inflection point in the long and storied history of the world’s greatest game.
Top: Dustin Johnson has won the Saudi International twice in three years.
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