The 2002 European Ryder Cup team star player Paul McGinley has recently opened up on the PGA Tour’s newest deal with the SSG. The deal is said to provide $3 billion to the newly planned PGA Tour Enterprise to unify and improve the game of golf. However, McGinley has a different take on that and feels if corrective measures are not taken, the game remains “broken”.
While speaking on Golf Channel, McGinley praised the announced deal between the Tour and the Strategic Sports Group. However, he stated that the real challenge for the Tour would now begin, with the major task being to bring the best players and re-ignite fans’ interest.
Paul McGinley said that the narrative of the game of golf has changed over the last 18 months, and added that the disruptive LIV Golf league has not taken the lost viewership. He warned the PGA Tour that golf has been pretty unpredictable and the deal with SSG must be a “stepping stone” to unifying the game again.
“The narrative around golf and the divisiveness over the last 18 months has driven people away from the sport and it’s not like LIV has taken those viewers – that product hasn’t ignited at all in terms of the public perception and engagement. So golf is not in a good place and let’s not get away from that. This deal was a strategic and a business move and it’s a stepping stone to try and put golf back together.”
