Feature
¿ eld of privileged PGA TOUR professionals,
with the token gesture of a handful of young
‘home’ players to tick the golf development
box. In theory, the body set up to arbitrate
and oversee the fair treatment of each of its
member organizations, is the International
Federation of PGA Tours, but, sharing an
of¿ ce cheek-by-jowl with the PGA TOUR,
this is an organization without teeth and an
apparent disregard for the majority of its
members, in particular the European Tour and
the Asian Tour whose backyard the dominant
PGA TOUR has no compunction in invading
with impunity. With both the European
and Asian Tours suffering – directly and
indirectly – at the hands of the expansionist
intentions of the dominant PGA TOUR,
that prognosis could, in theory at least, be
applied to the LPGA Tour, which this term
has no fewer than eight tournaments in Asia.
However, with the Ladies European Tour still
in intensive care following this year’s near-
death experience and the Ladies Asian Golf
Tour falling off a proverbial cliff since its
10 tournament high-water-mark of 2014, the
LPGA is the only show in town. Meanwhile,
as the PGA TOUR marches through Asia
seemingly without a care for local or regional
professional golf, it too may prove vulnerable
to the much publicized World Golf Series.
In May this year, the UK-based World
Golf Group went public, claiming it had
been working-up the concept for over a
Justin Thomas
The PGA TOUR’s unilateral decision
to bring forward the prestigious
US$11m Players Championship,
widely regarded as the, ‘Fifth
unoffi cial ‘Major,’ from May to
mid-March is arguably the least
contentious of the PGA TOUR
rescheduling, which retains the
autumn-to-autumn cycle as opposed
to following the calendar year.
Monaghan
year, aiming, predicted for between 15 and
20 tournaments around the world each year,
each event offering a prize purse of around
US$20 million, according to Richard Marsh,
a spokesperson for the shadowy group which
is not even registered with British business
authorities. Were such a development
to succeed - and all the key commercial
performance indicators in men’s professional
golf would suggest such a World Golf Series
on this scale is little more than a pipe-dream case be a touch harsh on the PGA TOUR),
in order for there to be a mutually-bene¿ cial,
long-term relationship, both the party whose
blood is being sucked and the bloodsucker
have to co-exist and bene¿ t from a symbiotic
sustainable af¿ liation.
Sadly, the Asian Tour, for many the most
friendly, cosmopolitan and colourful men’s
pro circuit in the game, despite having all-
but seen-off the ill-judged OneAsia remains
relatively weak, its most recent CEO Josh
– then even the hitherto domineering PGA
TOUR would have to look to its laurels
to remain relevant and viable. Whilst it is
clear that the PGA TOUR’s Asian adventure
is primarily aimed at bene¿ tting its own
members, especially those who are either
keen to make the big time – and bucks – and
those who once did so and would like to
again, it is only fair in recognizing a degree,
however modest that may be, of altruism
on its part. However, until such time as the
PGA TOUR recognizes, ¿ rst, that its business
model and gol¿ ng offer does not export
well beyond the 50 states, Canada and a few
US dependencies around the world, where
local, regional, national, collegiate, ethnic,
racial and other allegiances bind the players
to the circuit, on course, on TV and online.
And, like any parasite and host relationship,
(and perhaps the term ‘parasite,’ may in this Burack quitting after an unfruitful two years.
Now, to have the PGA TOUR blundering into
Asian Tour territory with events such as the
CJ Cup with no place for players from the
home circuit can only inÀ ict further damage
on the game in a part of the world where
both economic and sporting growth continue
apace, the most sustained growth in À at-
lining global economy.
Oh for an authentic, properly-constituted
and above all independent International
Federation of PGA Tours, ideally an
organization where the Asian Tour is treated
on a par with the PGA TOUR, where the
Sunshine and Australasian Tours were the
equal of the European Tour, and call a halt
to the US anarchy where the PGA TOUR
can – and does – act not only with impunity,
but also with apparent contempt towards its
fellow federation members.
GolfPlus
NOVEMBER
2018
33