Premier Golf League Set to Rival PGA
Upstart golf league dominates talk at west coast tournaments
Rivalries often emerge in sports out of thin air and with the help of modern media coverage, can truly dominate the discussion for that sport.
Some of the greatest rivalries in sports involve players such as Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird in the NBA, or professional teams such as the New York Yankees versus the Boston Red Sox. However, in recent years we have seen rivalries develop between professional sports leagues. The XFL, an alternative professional football league to the NFL, begins its inaugural season this February and the Premier Lacrosse League, attempting to overthrow Major League Lacrosse, debuted in 2019.
This recent uprising in alternative professional leagues is not limited to football and lacrosse, as talks of a new professional golf world tour heated up recently at the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, Ca.
Top golfers like Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy have expressed their curiosity about the potential of a more lucrative alternative to the Professional Golf Association (PGA) tour.
McIlroy, widely considered as a player with old-school golf values, commented on the possibility of the more selective golf tour.
“I love the PGA Tour, but these guys have exploited a couple of holes in the system,” he said. “The way that golf at the highest level is nowadays and how it’s sort of transitioned from a competition tour to entertainment.”
McIlroy, along with many top golfers, believe that since golf has garnered significantly more media attention in recent years, the players have become increasingly shorted of money for the value they bring to the sport. This upstart golf tour called the Premier Golf League (PGL) started on the premise of giving more money towards the players. It plans to run a world tour consisting of 18 events that would feature only the top 48 players. The first place prize in these 18 events would exceed $5 million, which is at least three times as much money a player would receive for winning a standard PGA tour event.
Alternative options to golf can bring about countless benefits to both athletes and consumers of the sport. Even the rumors of a new tour have already forced current PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, to meet with the sixteen-person Player Advisory Council.
In the biggest challenge of his three-year tenure, Monahan’s message to the players after this Player Advisory Council meeting was brief as he expressed his disinterest in the rival golf tour.
“Talk to whomever you want about anything you want, but know this: Nobody will be a member of both the PGA Tour and the Premier Golf League.”
If the Premier Golf League actually came into existence and lured the top 48 players in the world, then the PGA Tour would simply turn into a minor league system for the more lucrative PGL. At its current state, the PGL has been garnering more attention in the golf world, but still exists primarily as an idea. Without the proper funding and commitments from the world’s top golfers, the PGL is still a few years away from seriously rivaling the PGA tour.
However, golfers like McIlroy acknowledge the potential of this possible opportunity.
“I’m still quite a traditionalist, so to have that much of an upheaval in the game I don’t think is the right step forward,” McIlroy said. “But I think it might be a catalyst for some changes on this tour that can help it grow and move forward and reward the top players the way they should be.”
Fans should turn their attention to large west coast tournaments occurring in the upcoming weeks. The Pebble Beach Pro-Am will bring attention to Northern California’s rich golf history. It will take place from Feb. 6th-9th and offers the closest live viewing options for Santa Clara students to watch the best golfers in the world.
Contact Kieran Bradford at kbradford@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.