Might want to take this one with a grain of salt but Andy Both, who writes about golf for Reuters, the European news service, has thrown something out there that takes us back to Greg Norman in his prime.
Seems Andy has written about some mysterious group in the U.K. that Both says is the World Golf Group. He also says its head honcho is a guy named Richard Marsh. Now here’s where things get interesting if not comical. This World Golf Group whispered in Both’s ear that it wants to start a World Golf Series that will feature 15-20 events with prize money of $20 million per event.
You read that right TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS MILLION PER EVENT.
Just for reference, the recently-completed Players Championship had a massive total purse of $11 million, largest on the PGA Tour.
Which brings us back to the glory days of Greg Norman.
You might recall it was Norman who proposed a “World Tour” with events that would feature the top-ranked players going after larger purses. The PGA Tour squashed that idea like a bug, mainly because the PGA Tour didn’t hatch the idea. Norman’s dreams were dashed and shortly thereafter, the PGA Tour created the WGC — World Golf Championship events — that featured big purses and fields limited to the top-ranked (top 50) players only.
The tour stole Norman’s idea, claimed it as its own and the WGC events are the most popular events among the non-majors on the PGA Tour.
Which brings us back to this World Golf Group and their proposed World Golf Series.
Andy claims in his article that “blue chip sponsors are on board” but the caveat is that this World Golf Group needs to get the world’s best players to participate in their events.
Now the money in and of itself would get any player’s attention, even our multi-gazillionaires in the world’s Top 10.
Here’s where it gets testy.
Chubby Chandler, one of the leading player agents across the pond, brings up one importantly massive fact:
“This series will never get world ranking points,” said Chandler, “so it will cost people money in the end. I think there are a lot of obstacles to get over.
The cards are stacked against them if they don’t get six of the world’s top 10 players to sign up.”
And therein lies the problem for this World Golf Group or anyone else who wants to butt heads with the PGA Tour.
Now if they want to suck players away from the European Tour, that’s another story. The money isn’t all that great over on that tour but that tour can’t deliver enough of the world’s Top 10, as Chandler said would be needed.
Of course, Richard Marsh wouldn’t offer any comment to scribe Andy Both.
Which makes it all sound like another wives tale.
This has about as much of a chance of happening as the PGA Tour giving credit to Greg Norman for hatching the World Golf Championship events.
Which is zero.
