Fox! Value Of TV Deal Has Players Wanting More U.S. Open Say

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The USGA's recent U.S. Open purse bump sounds as it was influenced by PGA Tour player talk at recent player meetings, reports Rex Hoggard for GolfChannel.com.

Players feel they are still underpaid based on TV deals, with the Fox-USGA's known price tag making it easy for them to do some math and realize they are not paid proportionally with revenues. However, a $25 million purse would make a mess of things. So...

Instead, the players at the meeting focused on how the additional revenue could possibly be used, from additional funding for Web.com Tour purses, to rookie stipends or even a caddie retirement plan, which is currently a hot-button topic because of an ongoing lawsuit between the circuit and a group of caddies.

According to the USGA’s financial statement for 2016 about half (49 percent) of its revenues ($98.7 million) came from broadcast rights fees, while about half (46 percent or $91.5 million) of its operating expenses were related to its “open championships.”

And if it's not bad enough for the Executive Committee to possibly have to face giving up some of their profits, it gets more intriguing:

One player who spoke at the meeting and requested anonymity because of the potential for future negotiations said the concern goes deeper than simply a fair share of the TV rights, and that players want a say in future venues and how the championship is run, pointing out last year’s rules snafus at both the U.S. Open and Women’s Open.

It’s unclear how far the players would be willing to take a potential negotiation with the USGA or any of the game’s other ruling bodies.

“Let’s be honest, we’re not going to boycott a major,” one player said.

Five Families Fun: U.S. Open Purse Jumps To $12 Million

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The PGA Tour and PGA of America joined forces in 2013 to match and increase their signature championship's purses as part of a new collaboration. The move by two of the five families significantly bumped payouts to The Players and PGA Championship winners, and eventually pushed the USGA to the $10 million mark.

But as Joel Beall reports for GolfDigest, the USGA's announced move to $12 million should the attention of players.

"When you look at the USGA championships, by and large just about any way you look at, they’re the most important championships not only in the U.S. but in the world," Mike Davis, USGA executive director/CEO, said on Saturday prior to the USGA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. "And we talked about that and said the purses really should reflect that.”

The winner's share will see a significant raise as well. Last season, Dustin Johnson received $1.8 million for his efforts at Oakmont. This year's champion will take home $2.16 million.

The doubling of the purse since 2003 makes the U.S. Open, at least for now, the richest prize in major championship golf. The move also will bolster the U.S. Open ahead of an anticipated schedule shakeup that could permanently place the PGA Championship ahead of the U.S. Open.

Will the Tataglia's and Barzini's of Florida raise their $10.5 million purses perhaps sooner than planned?

PGA In May Could Come Down To Data Points

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Rex Hoggard considers the pros and cons of schedule changes that would annually send The Players to March in exchange for a May PGA and a pre-labor day FedExCup. That deal is on the table from PGA Tour Coommissioner Jay Monahan, but whether the PGA of America pulls the trigger will come down to golf courses and "data points."

Hoggard points out the big agronomic issues with northern courses that host four of the next seven PGA Championships.

“When you run a major championship it starts and ends with the quality of the golf course, it starts and ends with the quality of the competition,” Bevacqua said.

But for every Hazeltine, Whistling Straits and Oak Hill, there will be southern courses that could replace them in May. So won't this, like most things, come down to the numbers?

Bevacqua explained it’s not a single factor that could see the PGA move to a new spot on the calendar, but instead a collection of data points – from golf course availability to how a May vs. August date could impact TV viewing.

“What would it mean to the quality of the broadcast, what would be a more powerful timeframe to broadcast the PGA?” Bevacqua asked hypothetically.

Since the PGA is now usually the second highest-rated major, August would seem more logical. But clearly there is a piece in this puzzle luring the PGA to consider a move to May and Mothers Day weekend. Only time will tell what that piece is.

Former PGA Prez: "PGA Championship in May? No way"

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Former PGA of America president Ted Bishop pens an item for the Morning Read questioning the possible PGA Championship move to May?

Given Bishop's intimate working knowledge of the current PGA of America way of thinking, his insights are particularly impactful. If this were match play, Bishop sees PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan winning this one 5&4 over the PGA of America's Pete Bevacqua.

Bishop suggests agronomy as the main concern, especially in the greater New York area.

Worse yet, May virtually eliminates some of the classic PGA Championship venues such as Hazeltine, Medinah, Whistling Straits and Baltusrol. Because of climatic conditions, the PGA Championship map would shrink if the event were to move to May or earlier. 

Early spring jeopardizes even Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., a site owned by the PGA and one that Bevacqua seemingly has shunned. In 2012, the PGA spent $5.5 million in course renovations and delivered a memorable ’14 championship won by Rory McIlroy as darkness fell. There is nothing on the docket for Valhalla. It will be the first time since 1996 that the PGA has gone longer than four years in playing a PGA, Ryder Cup or Senior PGA at its own facility. Louisville is renowned for the Kentucky Derby in early May, so where does the PGA Championship fit in the corporate picture later in the month at Louisville? It fits nowhere.

As for the PGA of America's motive in listening to the PGA Tour on this, Bishop speculates...

Maybe it makes sense for Monahan to cough up the PGA’s purse of $10 million per year to cement his FedEx deal for the future. It still would be a bad deal for the PGA, which can own the August sports calendar for three out of every four years.

50 Years Ago This Week A Club Pro Won On The PGA Tour

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Granted, he was the legendary Tom Nieporte of Winged Foot, but as Tom Cunneff writes for Golf.com, he is believed to be the last legitimate sweater-folder to beat the flatbellies.

Cunneff writes of the 1967 Bob Hope Classic:

After all, Nieporte wasn’t even a tour pro when he won the Hope at age 37. He was the head pro at Piping Rock Golf Club on Long Island when he outplayed the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, and Floyd at La Quinta Country Club. After opening with a 76 that left him 10 shots off the lead, Nieporte carded three 68s to trail defending champ Doug Sanders by one shot heading into the fifth and final round. With an estimated 30,000 spectators on hand enjoying a perfect day in the desert, Sanders was still a stroke ahead after nine, but Nieporte’s 25-foot birdie putt on 11 pulled him even. Another birdie on 18 from 12 feet gave him a one-shot lead at 11 under par. Playing a hole behind Nieporte, Sanders had a chance to tie him on 18 and force a playoff, but his long birdie attempt just missed.

Thomas's 59 Highlights PGA Tour's Digital Conundrum

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PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan highlighted digital as a big part of his focus and has expressed a desire for the PGA Tour to obtain ownership or partial ownership of the channel showing his tour product.

This has prompted the PGA Tour to create PGA Tour Live to show pre-Golf Channel coverage and to establish another option for showing golf, with the long term goal of possibly becoming home to Thursday and Friday coverage once the current Golf Channel deal expires (2021).

But when Justin Thomas teed off early and posted a Sony Open 59 Thursday, he exposed several weaknesses in the PGA Tour approach to digital, starting with PGA Tour Live sitting out the two Hawaii events, presumably due to cost. This isn't surprising given the expense of doing golf in Hawaii and the tour's propensity for saving a buck, as evidenced by PGA Tour-managed events ending spectator access to practice round days.

Golf Channel, set to start Sony coverage at 6 pm ET, did pick up the last two holes of Thomas's 59 more than one hour before scheduled sign-on time. Yet the PGA Tour directed fans to Facebook Live where the 8th 59 in tour history was seen through the cell phone camera of PGATour.com's Ben Everill (who, btw, did an excellent job analyzing the scene).

However, this is not exactly the most scintillating way to see a 59:

Would the PGA Tour's new Twitter streaming deal have helped? Nope. It's merely a way to preview PGA Tour Live coverage in the weeks PGA Tour Live is covering golf.

In the case of Thomas's 59, had the PGA Tour linked to Golf Channel's Golf Live Extra, fans would have been asked to log in via their cable provider. Sorry cord cutters!

Yet given the lack of PGA Tour Live presence this week, the PGA Tour should have worked out something to provide fans with a better view. 

According to the PGA Tour's Ty Votaw, the issue was contractual, requiring all viewing to go through Golf Channel's Golf Live Extra. Yet the tour directed fans to a PGATour.com reporter's cell phone video at Facebook Live, with no social link for Golf Channel cable viewers. By having PGA Tour social accounts not promote the Golf Channel's online streaming of the last two holes, it's been made clear the partners are not working together, even in a non-PGA Tour Live week.

This will not be the last time fans are caught in the middle of leveraging tension between the tour and Golf Channel.

Commish Monahan Pledges Tour Return To Miami, Shorter Playoffs

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New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan sat down with Golf Channel's Rich Lerner at Kapalua, with part one of their chat airing on Monday's Golf Central (part two is set for Tuesday's Morning Drive).

He touches on slow play at the 7 minute mark and the answer isn't encouraging given that he cites the tour's ability to sign off on time for television as a sign that things are okay.

But of more immediate note were remarks on trying to return to the Miami market, but probably not to the president-elect's Trump Doral.

“Like any relationship, we’re committed to finding a way to get back there.”

Monahan said the Tour continues to seek a new sponsor for the Miami stop, which has been a Tour stable since 1962, and that it’s “highly likely” that the circuit would return to South Florida.

But at Trump Doral? Monahan was not that specific.

As for the impact Trump’s presidency...

“We see president-elect Trump as being probably the best golfer to ever sit in office and probably the most golf knowledgeable,” he said. “For the game, that’s a tremendous thing.”

Best golfer to ever sit in the White House? They say the president from Massachusetts was pretty good.

He seemed to lower expectations for a potential PGA Tour schedule ending by Labor Day, but did confirm that if the PGA of America moves its championship to May and all other dominos fall, that the playoffs will be shortened by one tournament.

Monahan said no decisions on possible changes have been made and that the other players in the mix, most notably the PGA of America which would give up its spot as the year’s last major, would need to see the value of a possible makeover.

“It’s not as though we’re going to say this is the schedule, everyone has to adapt,” he said. “Our responsibility is to work very closely with the PGA of America and it’s got to work for everybody.”

Another piece of those changes would likely be a reduction of the number of FedEx Cup Playoff events, from four to three, and Monahan confirmed postseason contraction is a consideration. “If we were to execute the schedule that I just mentioned I think it’s likely,” he said.

Based on sponsorship contracts, that would likely mean the end of the Boston stop, leaving New York and Chicago/Midwest as the two "playoff" events.

Part one here:

PGA Tour, Twitter Team Up For 70 Hours Of Weekday Coverage

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Bloomberg's Scott Soshnick with details of a new PGA Tour-Twitter broadcast partnership that covers 31 events and 70 hours over the course of the season.

Essentially they will provide 60 or 90 minute pre-game show coverage before PGA Tour Live and Golf Channel's weekday coverage commences.

PGA Tour Live has been providing coverage in the pre-Golf Channel window and will continue to be there for its subscriber(s). Theoretically this deal will encourage more to sign up for the paid PGA Tour Live service and gives the Tour more of the digital presence new Commissioner Jay Monahan telegraphed in this Q&A. There is also the big-picture effort to create new distribution channels for eventual Golf Channel negotations when that deal expires in 2021.

Day Opens The Door For New Commish To Attack Slow Play

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New PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan probably took a few aspirin when he saw that world No. 1 Jason Day returned from time off and, unprompted, proudly touted plans to play slower in 2017.

After all, the new Commish has more on his plate than you'd expect given the supposedly great product Saint Finchem left behind. Big picture stuff like trying to fix a confusing schedule, repairing relations with sponsors and keeping FedEx around should be Monahan's first-month priority instead of jumping in on the slow play debate.

But did Day just hand Monahan the perfect opening to attack the slow play problem?

Because of Finchem's many blind spots related to the actual product of PGA Tour golf, none was more perverse and damaging as his desire to see pace of play policies ignored. Finchem prioritized protecting the gentleman's game imagery above the gentlemanly behavior of playing golf at a considerate pace. Finchem never shied from bragging about his players taking hats off and shaking hands for the 18th green cameras.

Slow players? That could be swept under the rug because television wouldn't show someone rudely taking three minutes to play a shot, until they started showing such antics down the stretch because they had no choice. Then a Sean O'Hair or Kevin Na or Jason Day made it apparent how ungentlemanly it is for someone with PGA Tour level talent to take that long to hit a shot, and the Commissioner openly resisted penalty shots.

It is no coincidence that in the nearly 20 years Finchem was in office, the last penalty occurred in his first months on the job and never since. He also worked to undermine the stature of his officials by prolonging contract negotiations and underpaying the unionized force charged with enforcing the rules. And don't think players were oblivious to this neutralization of the referees or the amount of time that has passed since the last penalty (1995).

Even the USGA appeared has bowed to Finchem, implementing its very effective pace of play system at all but the one of its championships. It just happens to be the one where coddled PGA Tour players play: the U.S. Open.

Now that Finchem is retired, the PGA Tour slowpokes' sense of taking as much time as they'd like came flooding out of Day's mouth prior to Kapalua's 2017 season kickoff event. With no fear of being penalized and a rumored $10 million a year from Nike to pay any minor fines, Day made clear he's not going to rush himself.

The full comment:

Imagine a pitcher declaring that he will not throw a pitch until he's ready or a free-throw shooter backing off five times before taking a free shot? The leagues would crack down. 

In an era when no sport can afford to be seen as slowing down, the PGA Tour has shied away from enforcement that might help solve the problem. However, a new commissioner is in town and he's just been given a natural opening to push back.

Monahan shied away from taking a strong stand on slow play in a Q&A at PGATour.com earlier this week, understandably not needing to start his tenure off on a combative foot. Yet Jason Day has uttered comments  far removed from the simple reality that the PGA Tour survives on its entertainment value, not on how it pads Day's bank account. The suggestion he will back off until he's ready made clear Day's entitlement level runs so deep that even his truest believers might not feel sorry to see a PGA Tour rules official stalking him around Kapalua. And Torrey Pines. Or any fairway he pitches his tent upon to indulge himself at the expense of our viewing pleasure.