Will the PGA & European Tours Merge?

[Michael Whitaker]

Rory McIlroy thinks the PGA Tour and European Tour will merge creating a mega world tour:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/mcilroy-expects-pga-tour-to-merge-with-europe-circuit/ar-AAsl3Qc?li=BBnb7Kz

Sounds inevitable to me.

[JESII]

Agreed...didn't read McIlroys opinion but there's basically zero chance (imo) that there will be two tours competing for the attention of the top 100 in 15 years.

[Rob Marshall]

Greg Norman's head will explode!

[Jonathan Mallard]

Rory McIlroy thinks the PGA Tour and European Tour will merge creating a mega world tour:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/golf/mcilroy-expects-pga-tour-to-merge-with-europe-circuit/ar-AAsl3Qc?li=BBnb7Kz

Sounds inevitable to me.

Until it ends because splitting the tours back up makes more financial sense.


This may well happen soon. Look at the gate for other major sports:

• NASCAR attendance is down significantly.
• Ditto college football. We're a top 15 program and can no longer sell out our stadium on a yearly basis.
• NFL Opening week saw only 3 complete sellouts, or the definition was moved to 85% of capacity I'm told.

Consolidating the big names into one tour would certainly help their gate.


http://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-attendance-down-2017-9


Then, at a future point in time, when they have more eyeballs, we'll see a new narrative about why spinning of the European portion of the tour is the right thing to do.

[Mike_Clayton]

Be better for the European Tour to merge with every other tour - other than the PGA Tour - and create something great as an alternative for those who like the idea of playing around the world?

[JESII]

Mike,


Don't you think the top tour, whatever it is, needs to find sponsors globally? The PGA Tour just announced a regular event in South Korea, no?

[Mike_Clayton]

Jim,
Yes they added Korea - to Malaysia and China.


Any tour outside of USA would needs global sponsors - and a great world tour made of coordinated events supported by the best non-American players would be worthwhile value of a series of big global companies.
Probably it's a dream but it was Peter Thomson's (not Greg Norman's) vision of the way the game should evolve outside of the USA.


If all the best 'foreign' players supported a 'world-tour' it would be successful but the great pull of the US Tour is not just the prize money but the pension scheme paid post 55 (I think it's 55) It's appearance money paid after your playing days are over.

[Thomas Dai]

Mike,
Very interesting point about the pension scheme $$$$.
atb

[Jim Nugent]

One challenge a global tour faces is sustainable money.  It looks to me like tours outside the U.S. pay players a small fraction of what the U.S. tour pays.  That suggests their market is much smaller, in terms of fans, broadcast income and sponsors.  How would a global tour compete against what is now King Kong, and establish itself as a better product for players, fans and sponsors alike?

[Andrew Simpson]

Mike nails it that the way the European Tour is going and a continued Rest Of The World Tour is the way.
 Global sponsors will get more screen time and the surly inevitable shrink in the US tour apre Tiger will see the support grow from the USPGA players.

[JESII]

The US Tour is struggling to find/keep domestic sponsors, hence the beginning of a global expansion. Considering the lack of purses in Non-Rolex series events outside the US, there just aren't that many companies looking to headline an $8M or $10M purse...and the ones that are would already be talking to the US Tour.


If the US Tour added 6 or 7 events outside the States, and opened them up to 10 or 20 non- members that have shined in Asia/Australia/South Africa, who would say no?