Is the Premier Golf League Ever Gonna Take Off or What?
Professional golf is a sport that doesn't necessarily need huge ratings.
It does well with the right ratings, namely, attracting a higher tax bracket kinda viewer.
Those folks serve as a steady viewership baseline that serves as a launching pad whenever Tiger Woods happens to show up.
Dude gets any event an increased degree of exposure that may or may not last through the weekend, depending on how he fares.
But what if he was guaranteed to be a headliner straight through it?
That's just one of the perceived advantages the long-promised Premier Golf League is counting on.
It's definitely proposing a format the pro game hasn't seen before:
The concept would be designed to include only 48 players, feature no field cuts, and ultimately include a women's league, too.
The exclusionary field is enough to make PGA Tour officials sour on it. They're already issuing an ultimatum to their cardholders in an attempt to nip the League organizers in the bud.
That tactic worked 25 years ago when fellow Aussies Greg Norman and Rupert Murdoch broached the idea. It immediately went nowhere because the PGA hated it.
The PGA Tour's been around in one form or another for over a century. What we now recognize as the Tour goes back to around 1968 when the pros formed their own subdivision -- kinda like the Power Five and their FBS rebellion against the NCAA -- which is when the value of tourney purses exploded.
A half-century of producing reliable revenue streams is definitely food for thought to anyone caring to venture into the great unknown of a new operation.
A clue to who's being pursued to back the Premier Golf League is the concept of creating Formula 1-style teams that compete as such and as individuals.
Middle East kajillionaires love Formula 1.
It's been announced that the New York-based Raine Group merchant bank has been retained by something called the World Golf Group outta Jersey of British Channel Islands tax-haven fame.
Do know that it takes lotsa dosh just to get into the Raine Group's lobby, and they've dabbled in sports ventures before, working with clients such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Clippers, the Pac-12, and even UFC.
Top-tier players like Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy confirm they've heard from League reps and that they're listening, albeit with hesitation.
Meanwhile, the Tour dudes are also talking, and not in mild tones, either.
This current Premier Golf League proposal's been out there for six years, now, which is a hella lotta time for rich dudes to tie loose ends together.
For another year, then, ring it up as idling in pipe-dream mode.
If nothing else, maybe the PGA Tour might refer to precedence in similar matters, such as the NBA merging the ABA outta business but incorporating the three-point shot. Perhaps there's stuff in the PGL proposal that could improve the Tour. It's worth a look.