DEREK LAWRENSON: Saudis' golf takeover bid is heading for a showdown

DEREK LAWRENSON: Saudis’ golf takeover bid is heading for a showdown…but if the Asian events disappear more could be heading to the UK

• Paul McGinley is concerned about the proposed Saudi buy-out of the Asian Tour 
• McGinley believes Europe will miss out on the Hong Kong and Malaysian Opens
• Young golfers such as Will Zalatoris are ingrained within the current system
• Prize money is set to increase over the next two years on PGA Tour events 

Time to put the hard hats on and prepare for three or four years of disruption.

That’s the view of former Ryder Cup captain and European Tour board member Paul McGinley on the threat golf’s current eco- system faces from the cash-rich Saudis and other forces pushing for a breakaway tour.

The Irishman believes the Saudis will complete their purchase of the Asian Tour, which, in turn, means the certain loss to Europe of such established events as the Hong Kong and Malaysian Opens. 

Paul McGinley is concerned European golf will miss out on events if Saudis buy the Asian Tour

Another casualty will be the Saudi International, running for the last three years as part of the Middle East swing and which lured many of the world’s top golfers in February with silly amounts of appearance money.

What happens if the Saudis plonk that event opposite, say, the Dubai Desert Classic early next year?

‘We’re resigned to that kind of thing happening and the lawyers being involved,’ said McGinley. ‘If the Saudi event becomes part of the Asian Tour, will Jay Monahan (CEO of the PGA Tour) give the defending champion Dustin Johnson a release to get his $2million £1.4m) appearance fee, or Keith Pelley (CEO of the European Tour) grant releases for the leading Europeans to play? That’s the path we’re on, sadly.

‘We’ve spoken to the Saudis on a number of occasions. We would love them to continue to be part of our tour but they see it a different way. They think golf is stale and want to come in as disrupters and change the whole DNA of the game.’

Would players such as Dustin Johnson be granted a release to play in lucrative Asian tours?

That radical change involves players owning teams along Formula One lines and being offered tens of millions of dollars to sign up.

‘The Saudi lawyers reckon the PGA Tour can’t stop the players from joining and still being members but Jay is adamant that he can,’ said McGinley. ‘Unfortunately, it’s looking like we’ll end up with a massive legal case.’

To date, the only players who have shown interest in linking up with the Saudis or the Premier Golf League, another organisation with designs on a breakaway tour, are those coming towards the sunset of their careers.

‘We think the Saudi tour will start up but I’m not sure how far you can get without the biggest names,’ said the Dubliner. ‘You can’t build a tour just around players past their best. The young players are the future and they’ve aligned themselves strongly with the current system. So we’ll have to wait and see.

Young golfers like Will Zalatoris have already aligned themselves with the current system

‘But just imagine you’re a young star like Will Zalatoris, already in the world’s top 30 with lots of money. Over the next two years, the PGA Tour will see every event offering $10-12million in prize money. When the new US television deal starts in two years, the FedEx Cup will have a top prize of $50m in no time, with $1m simply for making it through to the final event.

‘The pension fund is equally well supported, and you’re playing each week in tournaments with lots of history that donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity and are much-loved in the towns where they’re held.

‘So, do you want to risk that trajectory you’re on for a new thing that may only last a couple of years, where you’ll probably be banned and your career could well lose momentum?

‘That’s how I’d be advising a young player but we’re not arrogant enough to dismiss the threat we’re facing. The Saudis have got lots of money and people mad on golf who are aligned with the government. You’ve got to respect their position.’

Abraham Ancer won this year’s Fedex Cup, the event’s prize money could be set to increase

What about the European Tour? They hitched their wagon to the PGA Tour last year in a strategic alliance that will see the Scottish Open count on both circuits next year, while a couple of smaller events in America will be open to European Tour members.

‘Over the next few years we’ll hopefully see a couple more events, like Dubai and the PGA at Wentworth and maybe the Irish Open, go the same way as the Scottish, and then you’ve got something of a World Tour going,’ said McGinley.

‘It’s true the Scottish will not now be open to all our members but if you’re in the top 60 you’ll get into that $10m event and if not you can play in a couple of $5m tournaments in America. So it’s all about trade-offs at this point.’

More events could be set to take place in Britain at courses such as Royal St. George’s 

As for what happens if the Asian events disappear, McGinley has good news for British golf fans, with the tour heading back to its roots. ‘We envisage Britain taking up most of the slack with quite a few events here each year,’ he said.

‘We’re not going to be eaten up by the PGA Tour. They came in with a proposal to accelerate the path we wanted to go down and it’s left us in an incredibly strong financial position.

‘We can help out with prize funds and the Americans are happy because the best young players can then feed into the PGA Tour. Ultimately, we’ll get to where everyone wants to be. But we are going to have to suck up some disruption.’

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