The PGA Tour has flexed muscles towards its equivalent in Europe by opening a base in England. Although a formal announcement from the PGA Tour is not expected until mid summer, their central London office is already operational with prime focus on media rights and tournament sponsorship.
The clear undertone is that the PGA Tour will seek to court sponsors who might otherwise be attracted to European Tour events. Given the fiscal power the PGA Tour has already displayed – this month’s Players Championship had a purse of $10.5m (€9.5m) as the €500,000 (£428,839) Portugal Open was taking place – this is an intriguing business move. The sense that golf is edging towards one global tour is impossible to ignore, as is the fact the PGA Tour clearly regards London as an important commercial hub. Fresh business partners for golf have generally been hard to come by in recent times.
The European Tour offered no comment towards news that the PGA Tour, whose headquarters are in Florida but which has existing offices in Beijing and Tokyo, has taken on premises in their backyard and are believed to be relaxed about the situation. The European Tour already had full-time staff in the United States, for whom permanent premises may be forthcoming.
Nonetheless the PGA Tour's move is interesting after grand statements made by the European Tour's chief executive Keith Pelley. The Canadian has insisted Europe will provide "a viable alternative to the PGA Tour". Only last week, the PGA Tour announced a 10-year extension to the FedEx Cup series which is the most lucrative in golf, including the payment of a $10m bonus to the winner. Under Pelley, innovation and change has been the order of the day; quite possibly to the extent where the PGA Tour has felt a necessity to hammer home its commercial size. The European Tour's Rolex Series, which will mean enhanced prize funds for certain tournaments, kicks off at next week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Sources within the PGA Tour insist a London office is sensible given the global sponsorship market and, for example, an existing relationship with Sky Sports to cover 31 events per year. The subscription channel is expected to rebrand one of its stations as Sky Sports Golf over the coming months.
Jay Monahan, the recently appointed commissioner of the PGA Tour, presided over a FedEx extension which is thought to include curious restrictions for players sponsored by a rival distribution brand. The PGA Tour has also tightened its own criteria for membership, partly in a bid to retain European players who might otherwise be tempted by a return to their home circuit.
The PGA Tour declined the opportunity to comment on the London office. Coincidentally, one of Pelley’s operational priorities for the European Tour has been finding an alternative home to Wentworth.
(Guardian service)
