Phil Mickelson’s biographer says PGA Tour has 'weathered' the LIV Golf storm: "On firmer financial footing"
During a recent episode of Dan on Golf, Phil Mickelson’s biographer, Alan Shipnuck, spoke about the PGA Tour’s current financial situation. He stated that the tour has survived the LIV Golf storm and has come out stronger.
On Monday, May 12, golf insider Dan Rapaport hosted a live show on YouTube where he discussed the PGA Tour and the Saudi-backed league with Shipnuck and Ben Boskovich. During the segment “Ask Alan and Dan,” Rapaport directed some questions to Shipnuck. One of the questions read:
“How is the PGA Tour doing financially? They have increased payouts to players by quite a bit over the last few years. Also, is their sponsor fatigued regarding all the increased purses? Do they ‘need’ the PIF money relatively soon?”
Shipnuck replied by saying (via YouTube):
“So, the Tour is on firmer financial footing than it’s probably ever been because they have access to this money. Now, it's four years away from the next TV contract, and that’s going to be a huge bump. So the bottom line is: the PGA Tour has weathered the storm of LIV Golf — and in a lot of ways, emerged a little stronger." [1:20:00 onwards]
Shipnuck said that most people are unaware that the PGA Tour has a “very high retention rate on their sponsors.” He credited the tour commissioner Jay Monahan for steadily maintaining sponsorship because he has “gotten people to sign the dotted line.”
Shipnuck further added that the tour may have had to subsidize some of the money gotten from sponsors, but “that’s what the SSG money is for.” He stated that they used up $1 billion to thank PGA Tour players for not moving to LIV Golf, but there’s still a line of credit for an additional $1.5 billion.
PGA Tour reportedly rejects LIV Golf’s $1.5 billion offer
In an effort to move forward with reunification, the PIF-funded LIV Golf reportedly offered the PGA Tour $1.5 billion. However, the tour rejected the offer, because the terms were reportedly unsuitable.
According to NBC Sports, LIV Golf’s proposal came with the condition that the breakaway league would still be recognized as an entity in professional golf. The league also requested that PIF governor Yasir Al-arumayyan join the PGA Tour as co-chairman.
Last month, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan spoke on the matter, saying that if the tour agreed to reunification, it would only be in a way that strengthens it. He said (via Golf Digest):
“We will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and our partners.”
Notably, Monahan pointed out that while some issues have been sorted out in the journey to reunification, there were still several creases to iron out. He further added that the tour, much like fans, still has a sense of urgency concerning the matter.