Rich Get Richer on PGA Tour
Making it plain he was not going to jump ship to LIV Golf even for the fabulous sums reportedly offered, Tiger Woods is in line to a giant payday of $100 million of equity in PGA Tour Enterprises which received a $1.5 billion investment from the Strategic Sports Group. PGA Tour Enterprises is the for-profit company recently formed by the PGA Tour to preserve their non-profit tax status.
Rory McIlroy is said to be inline for $50 million with other PGA Tour members receiving lesser amounts. For all those receiving equity in PGATE, 50% will vest in four years, 25% in six years and 25% in eight years from the initial date.
During that time players must continue to play in the minimum number of tournaments annually and live up to the other PGAT rules.
Pro golf continues to become more and more convoluted with no end in sight of the LIV/PIV negotiations. Though the sometimes outlandish statements from LIV Golf and LIV players have recently grabbed fewer headlines some LIV fans have taken up the cause using social media as a platform for what might be called inane rantings but which in any event certainly are divisive.
Is there a connection? So far this year every televised PGA Tour event has has a decline in viewing audience.
Golf Lobbies on Capitol Hill
Citing the golf industry’s $102 billion direct impact on the U.S. economy the American Golf Industry Coalition (AGIC) is heading to Washington D.C. for National Golf Day on May 9. Over three days industry leaders and staff will talk about golf’s importance as both a vital factor in the country’s economy and as a recreational activity attracting millions of new participants.
Emphasis will be placed on data from the report released in 2023 by the AGIC on the dynamic increase since the previous report in 2016 when direct impact was measured at $84.0 billion. Meetings with lawmakers and other government employees will stress the total impact of direct, indirect and induced impact which the report places at $226.5 billion.
One of the lobbying themes is “Good for the Planet” since golf courses are sites of suburban and urban green space with course management in the past few years sharply reducing the use of pesticides, fertilizers and water.
Recent figures from the National Golf Foundation show all forms of golf participation to have hit 45.0 million up 4 million in one year.
Let’s hope the message is heard.
Short Putts
Charley Woods missed out in U.S. Open qualifying finishing with a score of 81 over the Legacy Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. with a tie for 61st. The top five scores move on to the next round of play. Though disappointing to the 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods, at least the media didn’t inundate the occasion as was the case PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic qualifying attempt in February.
Last weekend must have been the one for two-peats as PGA Tour Champions Steven Ames repeated as winner of the Mitsubishi Electric Classic on Sunday, his 60th birthday. On the LPGA Tour Australian Hannah Green hoisted the JM Eagle LA Championship trophy after a final round of 65 over the historic Wilshire Country Club course which included holing out twice from off the green.
Jordan Spieth is targeting the PGA Championship in two weeks to complete his career Grand Slam and is the favorite in this week’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson in his hometown of Dallas.
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