The news from the past week caused a lot of industry hands to wonder what else might be in store for golf in 2024.
The first shoe to drop came with the announcement Wednesday that Martin Slumbers intends to step down from his position as CEO of the R&A at the end of this year. With his contract nearing an end, Slumbers chose this moment to move on.
“When I took the job, I committed to five years at least but no more than 10,” he told me by phone last week. “I am coming up on 10, and so I think it is time to turn things over to the next generation.”
A golf outsider who came to the R&A from the financial-services industry, Slumbers quickly earned near-universal respect and admiration from all sectors of the game globally. He did outstanding work in advancing the commercial aspects of the R&A, the St. Andrews, Scotland-based governing body that oversees the game worldwide except for the U.S. and Mexico, although there are some who remain not thrilled with some of his actions and decisions. He aggressively supported equipment regulations, and he skillfully led the R&A through the COVID pandemic.
Slumbers should get high marks for his tenure. In my estimation, he served the game with distinction, and he will be missed.
Coincidentally, the DP World Tour announced 24 hours later that its CEO, Keith Pelley, will be departing in April and returning to Canada to become the CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. One observer told me that it is the “single best job in Canadian sport.” Pelley, a Toronto native, will lead an organization owning teams from the National Hockey League (Toronto Maple Leafs), National Basketball Association (Toronto Raptors), Major League Soccer (Toronto FC) and Canadian Football League (Toronto Argonauts), among others. Although the timing was a surprise, no one in golf was taken aback by this news. It was assumed that if the right opportunity came along, he would someday return to Toronto.
I spoke with the immediate past chairman of the DP World Tour, David Williams, and he was effusive in his praise for what Pelley accomplished.
“He has done so much for the DP World Tour,” Williams said. “He gave us 8½ unbelievable years.
“Of all the things I have accomplished in my long business career, recruiting Keith is the thing I am most proud of. It was a risk in hiring a Canadian who wore large, colored glasses. But he taught us that we are in the entertainment business, and that we needed new thinking. He brought just that.”
In this space a week ago, I wrote that these are the most turbulent times in global professional golf in many years. This game, this industry, needs to refocus on birdies and bogeys rather than dollars and cents.
Credit Williams and the tour board for implanting a proper succession plan. Deputy CEO Guy Kinnings immediately was named Pelley’s successor. Kinnings has worn many hats in his long and distinguished career in golf, and most insiders believe he is the right man at the right time for the DP World Tour.
Then there was the news of the end of one the great commercial sponsorships in the history of sport, as Nike and Tiger Woods have elected to end their 27-year partnership. This had been a poorly kept secret within the industry. Social media was flooded by remembrances of great moments in the partnership, including Woods’ dramatic hole-out on Augusta National’s 16th hole en route to victory at the 2005 Masters. The partnership proved to be extremely lucrative for Woods, but his impact on the Nike Golf business is questionable. The company exited the equipment business in 2016, and it’s unclear just how successful the golf apparel business has been.
Another poorly kept secret was that Farmers Insurance was likely to exit the PGA Tour. According to Sports Business Journal, the Los Angeles-based insurer will end its sponsorship of the San Diego tournament when its contract expires after the 2026 event. Farmers was one of the longest-serving PGA Tour sponsors, having underwritten the event at Torrey Pines since 2010. However, there is a new CEO in place, and last summer the company went through a round of employee layoffs. Couple that with significant demands by the PGA Tour to increase sponsorship fees and this likely was an easy decision for the company.
That said, this is another black eye for the PGA Tour on the sponsorship front. Wells Fargo walked late last year in a dust-up that became very public and quite unpleasant. Other sponsors are said to be considering exits, as well.
This is another piece of collateral damage from the LIV saga, which is causing corporate America to become concerned about its investment in professional golf. Whenever the new structure of the PGA Tour is figured out, a lot of fence-mending needs to take place.
In this space a week ago, I wrote that these are the most turbulent times in global professional golf in many years. This game, this industry, needs to refocus on birdies and bogeys rather than dollars and cents. The Masters cannot get here soon enough.
E-MAIL JIM
Top: Keith Pelley (left) and Martin Slumbers announced resignations effective later this year.
ANDREW REDINGTON, R&A VIA GETTY IMAGES