At the BMW International in early July, Sergio Garcia reportedly went on an epic locker-room rant where he said, among other things, that the DP World Tour was in a world of hurt – only he used some more choice four-letter words – and that his fellow competitors should have taken the money from LIV Golf when they had a chance.
Several months later, the DP World Tour is wrapping up a season in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in which it played for record purses and strengthened its strategic alliance with the PGA Tour and in June agreed to a framework agreement with the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Much remains to see how things will play out but longtime DP World Tour player, board member, 2014 European Ryder Cup captain and Golf Channel/Sky TV commentator is tired of hearing critics trash the deal.
“When you’re the little guy against an absolute giant that the PGA Tour is the odds are stacked against you,” McGinley said. “When a new titan comes on the pitch in terms of money like the Saudis and you’ve got one on each side and you’re the little guy in the middle you’re in a very precarious position.”
Europe players lift their captain Paul McGinley as he holds the trophy after winning the 2014 Ryder Cup.
The first decision the DP Tour faced goes back to the days of the PGL and the original alliance between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, which was announced nearly two years ago on Nov. 27, 2021, and for intents and purposes thwarted Andy Gardiner and his brainchild of the upstart PGL.
“Jay came in heavy,” McGinley told author Alan Shipnuck in his new book Liv and Let Die. “He showed us the color of his eyes.”
An unnamed PGA investor declared: “Monahan basically threatened to take all of their sponsors and said he would pump money into the purses of Tour events played opposite the Euro Tour’s flagship events so all the top Europeans stayed in the States. He might as well have parked tanks outside of Keithy Pelley’s office.”
According to Shipnuck, the European Tour had two top executives make their cases for the better deal, with Guy Kinnings advocating for the alliance with the PGA Tour and Rufus Hack pushing for the PGL merger. Shipnuck writes: “Monahan’s offer would give the European Tour a needed cash infusion without it having to sell its soul, while allowing the PGA Tour to thwart a formidable competitor for a reasonable price, part of the deal was that the European Tour would be barred…
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