European Tour Chief Pelley On McKellar Podcast: Ryder Cup Decision By Month's End, Hoping For More Co-Sanctioned Events

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European Tour Chief Keith Pelley was on the McKellar Golf podcast and discussed a range of issues, including the possibility of a stronger PGA Tour alliance, his few informal encounters with the Premier Golf League (which he continues to characterize as essentially a hostile competitive bid) and several questions about the Ryder Cup prospects.

About 21 minutes into he discusses the weekly calls with the other major organizations in golf, says there is “definitely a will to work together” with the PGA Tour, saying the “conversations have been stronger than they’ve ever been, where that will lead I’m not sure.”

He also made news in helping the golf world zero-in on when to expect a decision regarding the 2020 Ryder Cup, telling hosts Lawrence Donegan and John Huggan to expect a decision by the end of the month.

Steve Stricker appeared on Madison’s Golf Affect Radio Show and essentially confirmed that planning is still going forward but that a decision will come in the next two to three weeks. Tod Leonard at GolfDigest.com with the Stricker comments here.

And here is the McKellar podcast, or wherever you subscribe!

Troubled Times Prompt Golf Digest Pledge To Better Reflect The Game, Society

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Golf Digest Executive Editor Jerry Tarde penned an intriguing piece outlining the magazine’s intent to “accelerate golf’s journey of understanding” on a number of issues at the forefront. After a nice setup detailing the sport’s history with race and inequality issues, Tarde outlines the pledges:

—We at Golf Digest will commit to making the images and subjects of our golf content as well as our staff better reflect the diversity of the world around us. Both the game’s population and our own record here have been inadequate.

—We will continue to advocate for more access and affordability.

Continue, start, either would be great!

—We will increase our coverage of municipal golf—the lifeblood for attracting minority participation.

—We will support the golf industry’s collective efforts through The First Tee, in which 48 percent of participants represent minorities.

—We will promote sustainability in all its forms, because we know the ravages of climate change hit the poor and minorities the hardest.

—And we golfers promise to use our voice and influence to make gentle the life of this world.

Obviously this is a wonderful goal and a welcome pivot. Unfortunately, it’s way too late.

For decades Golf Digest has supported ideals contrary to the values pledged above. In repeatedly rewarding difficult, expensive, ridiculously-conditioned and ultra-private golf via the influential Golf Digest rankings and awards for a solid forty years, untold damage has been done to the sustainability prospects of the game.

Decades of editorial apathy and even hostility to the notion of equipment regulation or those taking stance with sustainability in mind has been partly driven by protecting commercial interests. The resulting expansion of golf’s scale, cost and environmental footprint has not made the game healthier.

The bad news for Golf Digest? Advocacy efforts highlighting the need to move in a different direction have been taken up by a variety of independent outlets that recognized long ago who had the game’s best interests at heart.

Muirfield Village To Host Deere Classic Replacement In Addition To The Memorial

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The Memorial Presented by Nationwide is curiously opting to water down one of the premier events in golf with a John Deere Classic-replacement tournament at Muirfield Village this July. But these are strange times and playing opportunities clearly take priority over optics, reason or the lack of entertainment value in watching the same course for two weeks (perhaps they will flip the nines to help differentiate the viewing experience?).

More vitally in a time of strife, suffering and pandemic, hopefully there will be a grand charitable component for local organizations that Nationwide already supports, particularly the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

From Doug Ferguson’s AP exclusive:

In a memo sent Tuesday afternoon to players, the tour said the new event would be July 9-12 and held without spectators. The following week is the Memorial at Muirfield Village, with spectators still a possibility.

The name of the tournament was not mentioned, along with other details such as the size of the purse.

But it said the field for the first event would be 156 players, allowing the Memorial to return to its elite status as an invitational with a 120-man field.

The fill-in tournament sponsor will be Workday, which has had a topsy-turvy relationship in trying to start a Bay Area Tour stop and in serving as a temporary sponsor of the Desert Classic.

From The Forecaddie last year:

The Forecaddie hears the last-minute demise of the 2019 edition came after Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri piled on one too many last-minute requests and complained about how the event was rolled out. With the PGA Tour having another potential event and sponsor as an option and no time to find another sponsor for the Curry event, The Man Out Front hears host management company Octagon pulled the plug after not being able to meet Bhusri’s demands.

Agronomically, everything should be fine since Muirfield Village intends to rebuild their greens following the 2020 tournament(s).

Return To Golf: Tour Caddies Will Be Asked To Clean Bunker Rakes, Flagsticks After Replacing

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While getting the all-clear on COVID-19 is not required of PGA Tour players before traveling to Colonial, when they present, the conditions will be plenty sanitary.

Or, maybe the whining about unraked bunkers and having to putt with a flagstick in actually paid off?

Either way, the policy above, spelled out in the guide sent to players a week out from the PGA Tour’s return in Fort Worth appears unsustainable. Furthermore, from what we’ve learned of COVID-19, outdoor surfaces are less likely to be a problem.

While there will be some entertainment in watching what caddies devise for stockpiling and accessing disinfectant wipes, it would just be so much better for golf if flagsticks were left in the cup and rakes were stored in maintenance yards.

PGA Tour's Return To Golf Does Not Require A Home COVID-19 Test

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In reading how the USTA is going to great lengths to envision a way to play the 2020 U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, it was understandable to see that tennis’ best would be required to test negative for COVID-19 before getting on a plane.

So it was a bit surprising to see such a stipulation was not required in golf’s return given how players are coming from many regions and using different means of travel to Colonial June 8-14.

This is from Brian Wacker’s GolfDigest.com story on the “Player Participant Guide” sent to players in advance of next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge:

Most notable among the guidelines is that while COVID-19 testing is a condition of competition, the at-home test players and caddies take before traveling is not required but rather “strongly encouraged.” Also, should a player or caddie test positive while at a tournament, they’ll receive a stipend from the Tour to cover associated costs, but only if they have taken the at-home test and tested negative. Players are, however, required to fill out daily self-screening questionnaires starting seven days prior to departing for a tournament.

“The at-home test is intended to help players avoid the unlikely situation of testing positive and be required to quarantine away from home,” said Joel Schuchmann, PGA Tour VP of communiations, when reached by Golf Digest.

So the PGA Tour’s view is that the pre-tournament test is one to prevent an inconvenient stranding, but if safety of players and those around them was the ultimate priority, I would think an all-clear test before traveling was one of the most important steps.

This hole in the “bubble” is one of several—media and spouses/partners/companions who choose to travel and stay with players are not mentioned in any of the documents as part of the testing bubble. This, combined with not requiring an all-clear test after three months away from the Tour, explains why the word “screening” has been used to date.

Seeing the description in the player resource guide only makes it that much more confounding to start the bubble arrival knowing all have already been cleared to travel to Colonial:


If only it were that convenient for the rest of the world to get a test. I digress.

The other noticeable loophole involves players being able to stay in a rental home, RV or at the “bubble” hotel with a companion not allowed at the course, but also free to roam the host city or anywhere but the golf course.

Golf Figures Adding To The National Dialogue: LPGA, Varner, Rodgers, Pieters, Woods And Hack

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As athletes in other sports shared their support for anti-racism forces protesting within the United States, the golf world has been deliberate in chiming in. Something, Morning Read’s Alex Miceli points out, would be irresponsible at best.

That said, as many cities are under curfew orders and the sports grapples with how to respond, some in golf have chimed in. Notably, on the sports organization front, the LPGA was the first with this statement:

Among pro golf set, Harold Varner posted this:

Other pros to weigh in so far are Patrick Rodgers, Thomas Pieters and Tiger Woods:

And Golf Channel Morning Drive host Damon Hack posted this column on GolfChannel.com as he struggles with the times and the deja-vu all-over-again state of affairs.

Not again. 

What can I do?

What can the golf industry do?

The sports world?

My country?

Can I share my pain with you or does my pain not count, since I’m on TV and all?

You’ve made it. What do you have to be mad about? You should be grateful.

Thing is, I am grateful. But I’m also sad and tired and incredulous that I’m having the exact same conversations with my sons that my father had with me.

NY Post: "NYC golf courses devastated by continued coronavirus shutdown"

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While most Americans and the world are safely returning to golf—97% of U.S. courses according to National Golf Foundation surveys—the situation in New York is less rosy for golfers. In the New York city area, Mark Cannizzaro reports on the 13 courses in the five burroughs remaining closed.

“It’s devastating,’’ Rich McDonough, the director of golf at Marine Park in Brooklyn, told The Post on Friday. “You’re talking about multi-million-dollars-a-year businesses that have absolutely no ability to operate, and there’s no reason whatsoever why they’re not open.’’

Mike Giordano, who operates Marine Park as the concessionaire, said he “thought initially it was going to end in a couple weeks, then it became a month now we’re into our third month.’’
“This could be a death blow to us,’’ Giordano told The Post. “Nobody has unlimited funds. You exhaust your funds as the clock keeps ticking.’’

Giordano said he’s spending $100,000 per month to maintain the golf course with no revenue coming in and — most appallingly — no communication from City Hall.

Upstate, Sal Maiorana, James Johnson and Brodie Inguaggiato, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle look at how recreational pursuits were faring and focused on the troubles of golf courses dealing with mass food and beverage cancellations, and tee-time spacing.

Clearly, the food and beverage end of the golf business is suffering, but so, too, is the actual playing of the game.

Edmister said Blue Heron Hills had a flurry of early play in March thanks to unusually cooperative weather, and when the one-week, state-mandated shutdown of golf facilities was lifted in early April, the golfers were back out playing, but certainly not at the numbers you’d typically see.

The continued guidelines imposed by the state on social distancing, the prohibition of cart use, which has only recently been lifted — along with the fact that some people simply aren’t comfortable leaving their homes yet — have cut deeply into the bottom line. 

“The PGA of America is recommending 10- to 15-minute intervals for tee times,” Edmister said. “That hurts you at the end of the day when you might have 80 tee times and now you’re down to 40.”

In contrast, reader Gary sent me this note today, which mirrors what I’ve been seeing on social media and in conversations with golfers who have been out playing.

I live in Nassau County, Long Island and play at the public county course (Eisenhower Park. The county guidelines have tee times split 16 minutes apart. Golf is so much more enjoyable this way as the pace of play has been reduces by about 30-40 minutes. While I understand that the economics of this reduces revenue, the enjoyability factor is much greater.

Euro Tour Chief Pelley Shoots Down Bankruptcy Suggestions, Discussess Sponsor Conversations

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There were quite a few tidbits from Martin Dempster’s Scotsman story quoting European Tour Chief Keith Pelley that I didn’t see elsewhere and are worth noting.

He directly addressed any rumors of bankruptcy or insolvency, the government’s stance on potential 14-day quarantining come July, and conversations with sponsors.

In particular, related to the European Tour’s plan to distribute £500,000 between charities local to the tournament venues and those chose by leading players, he explained his pitch to sponsors.

“I had a conversation with one of our key partners about two or three weeks ago, and I said, ‘listen, this might not be the biggest event that you have ever done in terms of crowds and hospitality, but it will be the most important event, and it should be the most emotional event’. We are looking at golf as a platform; as a platform to give back, and we are privileged to be able to play. We think that golf is something that we have trumpeted to the government is a perfect sport to come back with.”

Four Golfers Make Forbes Top 100 Highest Paid Athletes

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While the coronavirus cut into earnings of several athletes, particularly in baseball, the annual Forbes list retained four golfers (down from five), with Tiger Woods leading the way in golf, landing 8th.

It’s the same four as four years ago, only in different positions this time: #8 Tiger Woods ($62.3 million combined endorsement and on-course earnings), #14 Rory McIlroy ($52 million), #25 Phil Mickelson ($40.8 million) and #52 Jordan Spieth ($27.6 million).

Korn Ferry WD: Vijay Reads The Room

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Since there are far more pressing issues in the world, a special thank you to Vijay Singh for withdrawing from the Korn Ferry Tour’s return event set for June 11th at TPC Sawgrass.

Though it could also be that market forces pushing the 57-year-old out of the field, as Joel Beall notes for GolfDigest.com.

Though Singh did pull out voluntarily, there was a chance, according to the KFT priority rankings, he wouldn’t have ultimately qualified for the event, which begins on June 11 at Sawgrass’ Dye’s Valley Course in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Singh is fourth on the PGA Tour’s all time money list with $81.3 million in winnings (FedExCup included).

Video: “If anyone was nervous, there’s no need to be now”

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A glorious day greeted Scotland’s golfers back to the links following the lifting of restrictions.

Not everyone’s first tee shot was as memorable, or well documented as this. (Thanks reader Brian for sending.)

Shark: PGA Tour Considering Money “Pot” To Compensate Elite Eight Players

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Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger has been talking to Greg Norman about a variety of subjects and in part 4, Norman says he’s hearing how the PGA Tour is trying to sweeten the pot to retain players who might be swayed by the Premier Golf League.

The original dreamer behind a world golf tour says he’s not been in touch with the league founders since February, but hears the PGA Tour is eyeing select European Tour events to expand the current World Golf Championships.

And, this what-could-go-wrong idea:

“What I’m hearing is that the PGA Tour, against all their bylaws and governances, is talking about putting aside a $40 million pot for eight players, with $8 million for the top player,” Norman said in a recent interview. “The PGA Tour is re-tweaking their model with the PGL out there. If you’re player nine, 10, 11 or 12, I think you’d be pretty pissed off.”

Norman said he didn’t know how the PGA Tour would rank the eight players. This pot would be beyond the FedEx Cup playoff money.

As with the PGL’s concept, this idea does face the troublesome issue of who is a top player, who is a draw and how is that determined. The modern game sees more turnover than ever—thanks to those Pilates classes and plant-based diets!—and trying to pin down who qualifies as elite talent, seems like no easy task.

While the Premier Golf League founders and funders have been quiet during the pandemic, it should be noted that Saudi Arabia, of the primary financial backers, has recently put another $40 billion into their sovereign wealth fund that is one of the PGL’s confirmed sources of funding. Vivian Nereim reports for Bloomberg.

USGA “Nimble” Regarding Spectators At Winged Foot

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When the USGA cancelled all local and sectional qualifiers for its remaining four 2020 championships, the number 2000 was cited for the likely maximum number of humans allowed at Winged Foot.

But the idea of more than must players, entourages, families, friends, television and media at the U.S. Open is now on the table based on John Bodenhamer’s comments to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig.

"We are cautiously optimistic that we will have spectators,'' Bodenhamer said. "I'm looking at it as glass half full. Gov. Cuomo was very encouraging about wanting to reopen sports and we're going to be respectful of what New York and Westchester County wants us to do. But we viewed those as very positive remarks.

"We feel social distancing can be done in an outdoor arena, and we know it has been the epicenter, so we will be thoughtful about what are more important issues for them. But we're starting to think about what might be possible as far as fans, volunteers, media, a number of things. We are trying to be nimble.''

European Tour Chief On Players Wearing Wireless Mics Upon Return: "This is the time for us to do some things completely differently."

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in rolling out a revamped UK cluster of tournaments and a # campaign centered around European Tour events giving back, Chief Keith Pelley also suggested the times are expediting initiatives to improve their television product.

From Iain Carter’s BBC report on wider implementation of wireless microphones on players.

"People said when we started doing in-round interviews that it'll never work," Pelley added.

"Now they are a key component of our broadcast. To get an insight into the mind of a professional golfer during the actual moment of deciding whether he is going to hit a five or six iron is fantastic."

Pelley expects players to agree to the move and points out that none will lose European Tour cards at the end of this truncated season. "That reduces the pressure," he said.

"Once you've actually had a wireless mic on in competition and it hasn't affected you in any such way - technology has come so far that it is really, really small and won't disturb your swing - then it just becomes commonplace and a way of life."

Economics, Sponsor Questions Ultimately Prompt 2020 John Deere Classic Cancellation

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While the PGA Tour cited gallery restrictions in announcing the John Deere Classic’s cancellation, a few stories quoting tournament director Clair Peterson flesh out why the sponsor pulled the plug.

While the economics of a fan-free event were part of the decision for one of golf’s greatest charity fundraisers, the early sponsor and guest surveying also suggested fans were not looking to party it up in the COVID-19 era.

Peterson, from Adam Schupak’s Golfweek story:

“We’ll probably do $10 million in charitable impact in a year that more than any I can remember will be critically important,” said Peterson, who added that the JDC gave $13.8 million to 543 charities last year.

Financial considerations were part of the decision. The loss of pro-am income amounts to over $1 million, Peterson said, and all of the tournament’s corporate hospitality sponsors respectfully have said they didn’t feel comfortable participating this year.

“We had one sponsor say that 90 percent of the guests they surveyed said they wouldn’t even come if they were invited,” Peterson said. “So, all that income is gone.”

Speaking to ESPN.com’s Bob Harig, Peterson mentions how John Deere’s corporate culture proved incompatible with a return to tournament golf featuring crowd.

"We have a small clubhouse, small parking lot. It's very difficult to get everything established from a social distancing standpoint, including locker rooms and everything else. Our title sponsor (John Deere) has been incredibly supportive, and during this pandemic they have been very cautious with their employees. So when all those things come into play, whatever version of the tournament we put on, we wouldn't be able to pull off with fans part of it. And that's a a money losing proposition. How much money can we afford to lose? How does our reserve fund look?"

And regarding the sponsor, Brian Wacker noted this from his story on Deere’s cancellation.

Last month, John Deere announced it was laying off more than 260 employees from its Dubuque facility with 159 employees being placed on indefinite layoff beginning June 1.

Given the PGA Tour’s huge coffers, not making up the economic difference for a tournament that has done so much contributing to the annual tour charitable fundraising seems like a headscratcher.

As Schupak’s story notes, the Deere is still going to contribute $10 million to 542 local charities this year without a tournament. So while the safety of fans is a legitimate reason for cancellation, the tournament opting to cancel over losing money is not a good look for the Tour, particularly when the difference between profit and loss was not close to a significant figure. And especially for an event that does so much for to help the Tour enjoy non-profit tax status.

The Deere’s annual contributions since the company started sponsoring in 1999:

2019    -           $13.82M

2018    -           $13.45M

2017    -           $12.27M

2016    -           $10.45M

2015    `           $8.73M

2014    -           $6.33M

2013    -           $6.32M

2012    -           $6.79M

2011    -           $5.29M

2010    -           $4.34M

2009    -           $4.63M

2008    -           $4.79M

2007    -           $4.60M

2006    -           $3.90M

2005    -           $2.00M

2004    -           $1.43M

2003 - $1.50M

2002    -           $1.45M

2001    -           $1.01M

2000    -           $800,000

1999    -           $559,000