Jan 28, 2020 - Sports

The Premier Golf League is approaching top players about a mysterious new tour

Kendall Baker, author of Sports

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Several players and agents have been approached about participating in a new star-driven global golf tour called the Premier Golf League (PGL), according to multiple reports.

Details: The tour would consist of 18 events and feature 48-player fields, 54-hole competitions (so three days with no cut) and $10 million purses. The mysterious entity behind the tour is also reportedly exploring a team concept similar to Formula One racing, plus an identical women's format.

The backdrop: 25 years ago, Greg Norman and Rupert Murdoch attempted to get a similar concept off the ground, but the PGA Tour squashed it like a bug.

  • "[W]ho possesses more might and moxie to pull this off than the former world No. 1 and Fox media mogul? That's the only question that matters right now," writes the Golf Channel's Randall Mell.
  • "That doesn't mean this isn't worth talking about, but we can't begin to take it seriously until we know who's behind it."

What they're saying: "Those guys have been talking to a few of us for six years,'' said Rory McIlroy at the Farmers Insurance Open this weekend.

  • "I'm still quite a traditionalist, so to have that much of an upheaval in the game I don't think is the right step forward. But I think it might be a catalyst for some changes on this tour that can help it grow and move forward."
  • "But I love the PGA Tour ... I certainly wouldn't want to lose what's been built in the last 40 or 50 years, tournaments like this, tournaments like Riviera in a couple weeks' time, everything that we have gotten to know and love."

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