Colin Montgomerie does not approve of the recent decisions taken by the PGA Tour and the European Tour. The Scotsman remembers with nostalgia the good old days when everything was not dictated by greed.
The PGA Tour recently announced significant increases in its endowments and bonuses in order to maintain its attractiveness in 2022 in the face of the probable emergence of competing leagues.
The FedEx Cup bonus, for example, increased from $ 60 million in 2021 to $ 75 million in 2022 and the envelope allocated to the Player Impact Program is now $ 50 million compared to $ 40 in 2021.
The total amount paid will increase from $ 367 million in 2021 to $ 427 million and the tournament endowment on average crosses the $ 9 million mark. The Players is the best endowed tournament as it goes from $ 15 million to $ 20 million.
I wonder what Seve thinks looking at it all from up there
If all this is excellent news for the best players in the world, Monty is not really convinced, especially as regards the “bonuses” which he considers harmful to the spirit of the game.
A show rather than sport
In an interview with the Scottish bunkered magazine, he explains that it looks more like “Reality TV only at golf.” I mean, Tiger is going to win the Player Impact Program this year, right? And yet he hasn’t played all this year. That sums up the problem well. ”
The Players’ record endowment also remains through the throat of the 58-year-old, 8 times titled best European player.
A World No. 1 Masters winner who would prepare for the PGA Championship by participating in the Scandinavian Masters, a European Tour tournament. This is no longer possible because they have all already left for the USA.
« Do you really think the players wouldn’t have come if the endowment had stayed at $ 15 million instead of $ 20? $ 5 million more? Donate this money to the Korn Ferry or the LPGA. It’s money the top PGA Tour players just don’t need. This is madness.”
Monty also regretted that he was disappointed with the recent decision of the European Tour to sell his identity and be renamed “DP World Tour”.
“As a close friend of former European Tour CEOs Ken Schofield and George O’Grady, I wonder what they think about it”, he explained “Seve too, with everything he’s done for the European Tour. I wonder what he thinks about it looking at it all from up there. There is the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and the DP World Tour. Europe is no longer mentioned. ”.
Golf on the Sport Business Highway
“I remember in 1991, when I was starting out. Woosnam had just won the Masters, he was the No. 1 in the world and he came to play the Scandinavian Masters the week before the US PGA. Tell me if it’s possible today? A World No. 1 Masters winner who would prepare for the PGA Championship by participating in the Scandinavian Masters, a European Tour tournament. This is no longer possible because they have all already left for the USA. ”
Generally speaking, Colin Montgomerie no longer recognizes himself in the development of Sport Business. Golf is just one example, the way was opened by football in England and to conclude:
“Selling the name of the stadium is terrible. Thank goodness my club Leeds United still play at Elland Road. But in the Premier League the stadiums are called Emirates, Etihad, Vitality. They are no longer places. These are advertisements. They sold their soul their identity for king money. That’s a shame.”
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