PGA Tour, SSG venture carries potential as well as questions | Golf Central | Golf Channel [Video]

0:00 | and joined Now by Johnson Wagner and

0:03 | Paul McGinley Johnson you’ve been a

0:05 | member of the PG tour for 17 years you

0:08 | were on the call this morning for the

0:11 | announcement what’s your reaction

0:14 | uh I have more questions than answers

0:17 | but it it’s certainly positive news I

0:18 | spoke with both Peter Milady and web

0:20 | Simpson after the call both board

0:22 | members of the PGA Tour they’re excited

0:24 | so that leaves me uh encouraged uh

0:27 | couple main things I took away from the

0:29 | call uh the PGA Tour was given just

0:31 | under A14 billion valuation so now there

0:35 | has been worth of the PGA Tour is out

0:39 | there so uh thinking about a$3 billion

0:41 | do investment is certainly a minority

0:43 | investment I like the idea that players

0:46 | have an equity stake and own the

0:47 | majority of their tour and the other

0:49 | thing this new PGA Tour Enterprises it’s

0:51 | going to be uh there’s going to be a

0:53 | board it’s going to be 13 member board

0:55 | uh it’s going to compile six current

0:58 | player directors plus one other player

0:59 | player so they will have uh they will

1:02 | have the majority of this board and and

1:04 | it certainly seems like we’re in an era

1:06 | where the players are controlling all

1:09 | the shots and and I as a player I like

1:13 | that but I don’t know that uh PGA Tour

1:15 | players Paul are the best people to be

1:18 | making uh business decisions yeah

1:20 | absolutely I mean that’s the the value

1:22 | of bringing SSG in you know um the the

1:25 | expertise that’s coming on board is not

1:27 | to be undervalued the PGA Tour needs

1:29 | that more now more than ever with what’s

1:31 | going on in the last few years we need

1:33 | uh and they need really experts in terms

1:35 | of driving this business forward I mean

1:37 | I I see it rich you know I’m I’m a

1:39 | little bit nonplused um um you know I’m

1:41 | speaking I’m not a member of the PGA

1:42 | Tour I’d say I speak for a lot of people

1:44 | out there H in TV Land who are looking

1:46 | at this going this is just more Rich

1:48 | guys getting richer and and I think the

1:50 | that narrative around money has got to

1:52 | be changed and we got to soon move on to

1:54 | what is the product going to look like

1:55 | how are we going to make this game

1:57 | better fair enough Paul but but but they

1:59 | had to go through this they did to to

2:01 | get to a place where they’re not talking

2:03 | about it it was essentially a hostile

2:05 | takeover and they had to respond and it

2:07 | was going to get ugly yeah and that’s

2:09 | where I was going to get to you know

2:11 | this is a business move I see this as a

2:12 | A smart business move I see uh you know

2:16 | you know there’s three real aims here of

2:17 | this as far as I can see number one is

2:19 | secure the Loyalty uh of the PGA tour

2:22 | players that have that have left that

2:23 | they’re not going to jump at the next at

2:25 | the next uh uh waving of a wallet in

2:27 | their Direction so they now have a Ed

2:30 | interest in the success of the PGA Tour

2:32 | that they will be paid for that so that

2:33 | secures them somewhat it secures the the

2:36 | platform of the PGA Tour that’s really

2:38 | really important secondly it brings in

2:40 | as I say real credible people in the

2:42 | industry who understand Sports FR

2:44 | franchises and their job is to drive the

2:47 | business in a very profitable Direction

2:49 | and also diversify the income of the PGA

2:52 | Tour that then then can be um you know

2:55 | invested in other areas in it and and I

2:57 | think the third one and and not to be

2:59 | underestimated is obviously the platform

3:01 | that’s now created to potentially bring

3:03 | in Saudi and potentially re re re uh

3:06 | reunify the game again so for there’s

3:08 | three big uh goals that have been

3:09 | achieved with this so I’m not against it

3:11 | in any way um I understand that there’s

3:13 | a lot of money going to be talked about

3:15 | at the moment these telephone number

3:16 | monies but you know it’s a very

3:18 | important business move if we are going

3:19 | to reunify the game which is what we all

3:21 | want and and the main question that I

3:24 | still have though and it’s been we’ve

3:25 | been talking about it forever is what

3:27 | what is SSG getting out of this one and.

3:30 | half three billion investment clearly

3:33 | it’s a long game play that that they

3:35 | think the PJ tour is going to grow over

3:37 | the next certain amount of years but I

3:38 | still and I have not heard it from

3:40 | anybody yet except maybe you have a

3:42 | couple ideas of of where their return is

3:44 | going to be I I see Johnson I see huge

3:47 | potential for this with smart Savvy

3:49 | business people involved here there’s

3:51 | incredible potential here golf is a very

3:53 | very fractured business and the

3:55 | ownership of all our major championships

3:57 | and the Ryder Cup and the DP World Tour

3:59 | and and the Asian tour and the African

4:00 | Tour It’s all under separate ownership

4:03 | so potentially with a massive fund which

4:05 | could be available here it’s an

4:07 | opportunity under the under the the PGA

4:09 | Tour platform to somewhat unify that and

4:12 | maybe even get hold of a major

4:14 | championship or or maybe even you know

4:16 | partner with a major championship or a

4:17 | rider cup something like that there’s

4:19 | incredible opportunity here uh from the

4:21 | SSG group these are really smart people

4:24 | they’re not getting involved in no

4:25 | reason they’re also involved in tgl

4:27 | there’s loads of opportunities there to

4:29 | potentially blend tgl with the with live

4:31 | down the road as some way of unifying

4:33 | the game again who knows where they’re

4:34 | going to go but it’s an incredible

4:36 | platform for them and I think with

4:38 | really Savvy businessmen which they are

4:39 | I think this is going to be a a very

4:41 | profitable Venture but it’s important

4:43 | that we get that in place but move on

4:45 | what’s the product going to look like

4:46 | get talk to the public more rather than

4:48 | to the players I know it’s important to

4:50 | solidify the players at a moment but we

4:52 | also you know as a as a product our golf

4:54 | we also need to talk to the public and

4:56 | excite them of what’s what’s ahead it

4:57 | feels like they’ve answered the question

4:59 | question of how do you satisfy the big

5:01 | names tiger Rory who did not go to live

5:05 | as Rah and T Hatt and many others did by

5:09 | giving them Equity based on past

5:11 | achievements so you know that tiger is

5:14 | being taken care of in a meaningful way

5:17 | because there was that question what

5:19 | what about me I didn’t take the money as

5:21 | John ROM did and if those guys are

5:23 | allowed to come back and continue to

5:25 | earn know the superstars who stayed need

5:29 | to be taken care of and it appears

5:31 | Johnson that that’s the case I I think

5:33 | they certainly are I mean having an

5:34 | equity stake there’s still so many

5:35 | details to iron out what that’s going to

5:37 | look like for these players how you earn

5:39 | the points as Todd was saying um but but

5:43 | it’s like career achievements it it well

5:45 | tigers’s had plenty of career

5:46 | achievements okay that’s a lot of points

5:48 | but where do you draw the line as we

5:50 | were talking about before if you start

5:51 | bringing Jack Nicholas in if you start

5:53 | bringing all these former players does

5:55 | it end if you have 10 wins do you get an

5:56 | equity stake if you have five wins how

5:58 | how is that all going to get ironed out

6:00 | and I think that’s a lot of the details

6:01 | that are still ongoing and to your point

6:04 | like I’m getting sick of all these

6:05 | three-letter piff SSG all these deals

6:08 | like I’m a golf fan and I want to get

6:10 | back to playing golf and watching Golf

6:12 | and and and have have the product speak

6:14 | for itself I know that that’s down the

6:16 | road you know I think this is a very

6:18 | important move strategic move on behalf

6:20 | of the PGA Tour and it creates an

6:22 | opportunity to now go and do a deal uh

6:24 | with the Saudis which we all know is

6:26 | pretty inevitable you’d have to say and

6:28 | and and and how that’s going come about

6:30 | we don’t know there’s different ways of

6:31 | doing it like I say I could see the tgl

6:34 | you know and the PGA Tour which are all

6:36 | PGA Tour players blending with live and

6:38 | that what an opportunity you make it a

6:40 | green grass um event around the world

6:42 | you know there’s your Global tour that

6:43 | is a potential it’s only an idea who

6:45 | knows where it’s going to end maybe the

6:47 | players coming back to play some Elite

6:48 | events on the PGA tour um who knows but

6:51 | um you know this is a this is something

6:54 | that’s going to give the PGA Tour you

6:57 | know Rory made a point yesterday about

6:58 | you know they should come back without

7:00 | um you know having to pay any penalties

7:02 | and and I think this is a way of them

7:04 | gaining money without having the other

7:07 | guys having to pay a penalty to come

7:08 | back in so everybody wins but again it’s

7:10 | so much about money here I’m I’m worried

7:12 | that we gone down that road too much how

7:14 | do you think nichelson Ron all those

7:15 | guys Brooks kka uh over on live how do

7:18 | you think they feel today I think that

7:20 | they’re got to be very giddy with what’s

7:22 | happened in the last 18 months from

7:23 | where we were this time last year and

7:25 | they’re Inc incredibly um good place

7:28 | they’ve got equity in all of these team

7:29 | so if if you know a blending of the two

7:31 | tours comes they’re going to gain with

7:33 | that and Liv stays on the pitch um and

7:36 | and I think yeah they’ll feel well it’s

7:38 | good enough for the guys that we left

7:39 | behind if they’re going to have Equity

7:40 | as well too that’s good because we got

7:41 | Equity so I don’t think they’ll be too

7:43 | Disturbed with that but this is

7:44 | important uh negotiating tool now for

7:47 | the PGA Tour they got a proper platform

7:49 | with proper people in there that can

7:50 | really help um drive this business

7:52 | forward so I think from a PGA Tour

7:54 | player you got to be excited and just to

7:57 | extrapolate on that I don’t think the

7:58 | road back to the PGA tour for a lot of

8:00 | these guys is going to be as easy as

8:02 | just coming back I mean think about how

8:04 | many guys left that their exemptions

8:06 | have run out John ROM is a major

8:08 | Champion so he’s going to be able to

8:10 | have an exemption for a long time but

8:12 | you think about the Bryson Des Shambo

8:14 | his exemptions gone Patrick Reed these

8:16 | guys are not just going to walk back on

8:18 | to the PGA Tour there are so many

8:20 | details to iron out in this whole thing

8:21 | and that’s why it’s taking such a long

8:28 | time

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PGA Tour, SSG venture carries potential as well as questions | Golf Central | Golf Channel [Video]

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