“I think they’re going to put themselves in a great position” - Kevin Kisner discusses potential impact of PGA Tour's financial opportunities
Kevin Kisner is flirting with a career in television broadcasting, but remains an active member of the PGA Tour. Not coincidentally, he has an opinion on the tour's most recent financial moves, namely the deal with Strategic Sports Group (SSG). "I think they're going to put themselves in a great position," Kisner said about it.
Kisner is back in golf television broadcasting, joining the NBC Sports staff broadcasting the 2024 WM Phoenix Open. From TPC Scottsdale, home of the event, he gave an interview to Golfweek and the topic of the PGA Tour-SSG deal got its share of attention.
Here's what Kevin Kisner had to say on the subject (via Golfweek):
"They [PGA Tour] are never going to get $3 billion [allegedly, the amount of the agreement]. I think they’re going to get one and a half. What are they going to do with it? I think they’re going to give that $900 million to smart guys that know how to run businesses that have done it all their lives and find the value and increase the value of the PGA Tour."
"I think they’re going to put themselves in a great position to partner with the PIF and at some point all of us will be back playing golf together. That’s my big crystal ball."
Kevin Kisner added that he has no objection to an eventual agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Kisner told Golfweek, "Saudi Arabia is involved with almost everything in the world."
What's next for Kevin Kisner?
As Kevin Kisner himself told Golfweek, the WM Phoenix Open is the last event covered by his current NBC Sports' contract. He added that perhaps in the future this could become a regular activity for him, but he still feels he is a full-time professional golfer.
In fact, Kisner already had a competitive start in 2024, albeit a rather unfortunate one. He participated in the Sony Open in Hawaii and The American Express and missed the cut in both.
Kisner is not qualified for the next event on the PGA Tour schedule (The Genesis Invitational), so he is likely to try to make his first cut of the year at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, which is played the following week. However, the Mexican event has not yet revealed its field.
After that, two events will be played in which Kisner could look for a place in the field. They are the Cognizant Classic and, mainly, the Puerto Rico Open. The latter is played opposite to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, so it opens a few more doors to players who, like Kisner, do not qualify to be included in a Signature Event.