PGA-European Tour alliance on the cards as Pelley says rival tour has brought them closer
The will-they-won’t-they saga that is a potential merger between the PGA and European Tours has been going on so long even the worst soap opera script writers would have put viewers out of their misery by now.
And while this one doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon, Keith Pelley has suggested it’s getting closer – even though he describes it as a “strategic alliance”.
“I do get a kick out of people saying we are going to go bankrupt,” Pelley told the McKellar podcast. “I had quite a chuckle when I heard people say the European Tour had to merge with the PGA Tour to survive financially – and to that I would say absolutely not.
“I have been having conversations with [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan for the past three years [and] there is definitely a will for us to work together.
“Those conversations are stronger than they’ve ever been. Where it leads I’m not sure but I am optimistic the PGA Tour and European Tour will work closer together in the future because that’s a positive for our game.
“But any strategic alliance that happens between our two tours has to be significantly beneficial to our membership and the PGA Tour membership.”
And the talks of anything resembling an alliance or a merger, Pelley explained, have been fuelled by a number of factors. Most notably the talk of a Premier Golf League launching.
“I’ve been consistent on this front in not commenting on something that doesn’t yet exist,” he said.
“It’s not in the interest of our tour, and I think Jay feels the same, to create another entity in a sport which is already fractured.
“The combination of the new potential competitor combined with Covid-19 and now the relationship that we have heightens the chance of us working closer together.”
Strap in, because this one is set to run and run. But at least we have our first glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.
Do you think a PGA-European Tour merger is the way forward for tour golf? Let us know in the comments below or you can tweet us.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
