Slugger! Today In C-Suite Bolstering News Via The Super Saudi Golf League

LIV Golf Investments—aka the Super Saudi Golf League until further notice—continues to rack up the impressive list of executives.

The big name here for golf fans is Slugger White, longtime co-head of Rules and Competitions for the PGA Tour who retired this year only to be lured back to grow the game (Check out Adam Schupak’s Golfweek story on Slugger’s now short-LIVed goodbye). Also joining the group are two media officials, including a former Endeavor executive as Chief Media Officer.

For Immediate Release

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. and NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LIV Golf Investments, the new entity focused on making strategic investments in golf, announced today the C-Suite appointment of Will Staeger as Chief Media Officer. Also joining LIV Golf Investments' leadership team are Slugger White, Vice President of Rules & Competition Management and Jane MacNeille, Vice President of Communications.

Will Staeger, an experienced executive in the sports and entertainment industries, brings over 25 years of experience managing media rights deals and production groups for iconic brands. He has overseen acquisitions, production, streaming, and event divisions for companies such as ESPN, Endeavor, WWE, and Dick Clark Productions. Staeger's most recent role was at Endeavor, where he managed original production before overseeing the company's NeuLion acquisition, later renamed Endeavor Streaming, as President of that division. Prior to Endeavor, Staeger managed all production strategy for WWE as Executive Vice President during the launch of the company's premium OTT platform.

"Each of us at LIV Golf Investments has one shared mission – to holistically improve the game of golf at every level – so I am elated to have the opportunity to join Greg Norman and his team to achieve that goal," said Staeger. "The innovation we will bring to production will excite and entertain fans in every corner of the globe. I look forward to unveiling our plans very soon."

Further strengthening LIV Golf Investments' leadership team are the additions of Slugger White and Jane MacNeille. Widely respected in the world of golf, White recently completed a legendary 40-year career as a rules official for the PGA TOUR. MacNeille, highly regarded in the marketing communications sector of the golf industry, has 15 years of experience, having most recently spent seven years as Head of Communications at the Greg Norman Company.

"As we pursue our goal of enhancing the global golf ecosystem, we are focused on building upon our strong foundation of sustainable growth, and are pleased to welcome Will, Slugger and Jane to the leadership team," said Greg Norman. "Their combined experience and expertise will be invaluable and instrumental, guiding LIV Golf Investments into the future."

All three team members have transitioned into their new roles.

LIV Golf Investments is building an exceptionally talented team of distinguished professionals from golf, sports and entertainment with deep experience in event operations, marketing, sponsorship and broadcasting. These new appointments follow the announcement last week naming Sean Bratches as Chief Commercial Officer and Ron Cross as Chief Events Officer.  Additional leadership announcements are to follow.

Introducing The DP World Tour In Stilted, Painful SponCon Fashion

Having raised the bar on “content”, this Europ…DP World Tour rollout video is well, just what you’d expect from the team at the DP World Tour Productions. Not European Tour Productions.

Perhaps there was a gunman just off camera or maybe the players just couldn’t bring the energy knowing this was not the Middle East cash infusion they were dreaming of seeing in their off shore accounts, but either way, this is an amazing bit of sponsor integration out of the chute. Kind of gives you new admiration for FedExCup not subjecting us to shots of shipping crates and planes taking off while updating us the FEC standings.

"Players competing for 55% of consolidated revenue from roughly $1.5 billion"

Phil Mickelson’s claim of only 26% of revenues going back to PGA Tour players appears to have earned him a rebuttal from the Global Home, albeit a slow one given that he mentioned it in a September 14th podcast with Gary Williams.

This comes from a Doug Ferguson column advocating against paying players salaries instead of through purses, Ferguson writes of where the PGA Tour is finding money for PIP and Play 15-Get-50K guarantees:

At least two players have coined a similar phrase of $50 million “magically appearing” to pay for the Player Impact Program and another program called “Play 15” that doles out $50,000 to anyone playing 15 tournaments.

The tour would suggest nothing magical about it. In a presentation to the Player Advisory Council, it showed players competing for 55% of consolidated revenue from roughly $1.5 billion, courtesy of a nine-year media rights deal worth about $7 billion. It also includes $32 million from the reserve fund to help pay for the earnings increase.

Obviously “consolidated revenue” is a different way of interpreting the Tour’s revenues and most of us probably don’t really care. But the disparity in Mickelson’s understanding versus the Global Home’s number is worth keeping an eye on as the situation unravels.

Also, it’s a bit surprising to see the television rights valued at $7 billion over nine years, putting the network/cable rights at just under $800 million a year.

Goodbye European Tour, Hello DP World Tour

Emirati multinational logistics company DP World has taken over naming rights of the European Tour. In exchange they’re guaranteeing $2 million minimum purses and of course, to grow the game.

Besides the obvious sadness in saying goodbye to the European Tour name, the logo above is DP’s. Theoretically it could be a shipping container so they’ve got that going for them.

Something tells me we won’t see a European Tour player video discussing this rebrand.

For Immediate Release:

The European Tour group and DP World today jointly announced a ground-breaking evolution to their long-term partnership, with DP World becoming the new title sponsor of the group’s main tour from the start of the 2022 season.

The agreement heralds a new era in the history of the European Tour group, which, along with DP World, will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2022, the first season of the newly named DP World Tour.

Today’s announcement represents a significant deal in terms of global sports partnerships, with DP World’s substantial commitment dedicated to three key areas: elevating the Tour in every way, growing the game of golf globally, and driving positive community impact.

The new look DP World Tour will see total prize money break through the $200 million mark for the first time, with a new minimum prize fund of $2 million for all tournaments solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

In 2022, the DP World Tour will represent a truly global tour through an international schedule, that will feature a minimum of 47 tournaments in 27 different countries, including new tournaments in the UAE, Japan, South Africa and Belgium and an expanded Rolex Series comprising five events: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, the Genesis Scottish Open, the BMW PGA Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

For the first time, it will also feature three tournaments co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR - the aforementioned Genesis Scottish Open, as well as the Barbasol Championship and the Barracuda Championship taking place in the United States – as a result of the Strategic Alliance between male professional golf’s two leading Tours. To view the full 2022 schedule, please click here.

The European Tour and DP World were both established in 1972 and have since developed into global enterprises with DP World, which is headquartered in Dubai, evolving into the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions.

DP World’s association with the European Tour spans more than a decade, first becoming a presenting partner of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates in its inaugural year in 2009, before the Rolex Series event was renamed the DP World Tour Championship in 2012. It was in this year that DP World became the tournament’s title partner.

DP World then became an Official Partner of the European Tour in 2015, and they will now become the Official Title Partner of the Tour from the start of the 2022 season, which begins with the Joburg Open in South Africa, from November 22-25.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour group, said: “Today’s announcement is undoubtedly a momentous one in the proud history of our Tour. The launch of the DP World Tour in 2022, coinciding with both of our 50th anniversaries, will herald a new era in global golf, and crucially it will benefit everybody involved – all our players, caddies, fans and partners – as well as making an important contribution to wider society.

“The entire ecosystem of our Tour will be strengthened because of this hugely significant deal, and that was essential to us and to DP World, who have been an incredible supporter of our Tour as well as golf more widely, from grassroots through to the elite professional game.

“The DP World Tour is, therefore, a natural evolution of our decade-long partnership, and the presence of ‘World’ in our new title better reflects our global reach.”

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “DP World has been a partner of the European Tour for over a decade. Our long-standing partnership has provided an excellent platform to engage with customers, prospects, and stakeholders, and build our brand. We have relished the opportunity to support the Tour in growing the game of golf and improving access to the sport at all levels. The key to this success has been and will continue to be the shared vision and values that underpin the partnership.

“We both have a global mindset, are committed to inclusivity, and invest in new technologies to stay competitive – attributes which today become the fundamental principles of the DP World Tour. As the leading provider of smart logistics solutions worldwide, we will use our people, assets, and connectivity to help grow the Tour further and change what’s possible in golf.”

Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR and Board Member of the European Tour, added; “Thanks to the support of long-standing partner DP World, today’s announcement significantly elevates the European Tour on a global basis. We are excited for the continued growth and evolution of the European Tour, as well as the momentum this provides toward our Strategic Alliance. I’ve said before that our respective Tours are positioned to grow – together – over the next 10 years faster than we ever have at any point in our existence, and today’s announcement is another point of proof in those efforts.”

The other particulars:

ELEVATE THE TOUR IN EVERY WAY

• Biggest prize fund in European Tour history: Overall prize funds in 2022 will be more than US$140 million for all tournaments outside the Majors and World Golf Championships, outstripping the previous all-time pre-pandemic high of US$130 million in 2019. Including the Majors and WGCs, the total prize fund on the 2022 DP World Tour will exceed US$200 million, benefitting all tournaments and all membersacross all categories.

• New US$2 million minimum tournament prize fund: For the first time, every tournament solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour will have a minimum prize fund of at least US$2 million, ensuring that all members benefit from this boosted investment.

• A record US$10 million prize fund for the 2022 DP World Tour Championship: This will make the season finale – the final Rolex Series tournament of 2022 – the first European Tour event in history outside the Majors and WGCs to feature an eight-figure prize fund.

• A full and comprehensive 12 month schedule: The DP World Tour’s International Schedule for 2022 was also unveiled today and can be accessed by clicking here. It features a minimum of 47 tournaments across 27 different countries from November 2021 to November 2022.

HELP TO GROW THE GAME GLOBALLY

• A significant investment in the Challenge Tour: To elevate prize funds and increase playing opportunities, as well as improving the overall infrastructure of events.

• Establish the annual John Jacobs Bursary Award: Supporting the top five players on the Challenge Tour Rankings at the end of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A with their travel and expenses the following year on the DP World Tour.

• A commitment to grassroots golf: Promoting golf at all levels in the countries we play in, including the UAE, where the DP World Tour will work closely with the current grassroots programme.

DRIVE POSITIVE COMMUNITY IMPACT

• Expansion of the Tour’s ‘Golf for Good’ overarching CSR initiative: Focused on supporting good causes and the communities where the Tour plays; sustainability; diversity, inclusion and health benefits of golf.

• Support of Charitable Initiatives and Disability Golf: Such as UNICEF’s COVAX Programme and EDGA European Tour.

• Continued collaboration with the women’s game: including support of mixed events such as the ISPS Handa World Invitational and Scandinavian Mixed.

The requisite awkward photo is also a call for tailoring assistance:

Quadrilateral: Ranking The Disruptive Forces

So much is at stake in the coming months and it’s a pretty stunning change from not that long ago when the “league” idea was declared dead.

For a new edition of The Quadrilateral, here are fifteen factors that have put the PGA Tour on notice and opened the door for potential pro golf anarchy.

Mexico Open Is Now A PGA Tour Event In Parternership With Grupo Salinas And A Greg Norman-Designed Course

The organizers of the WGC Mexico City Championship are back, minus the city and the WGC moniker, announcing a PGA Tour stop in late April. The new location is Puerto Vallarta’s Vidanta Vallarta resort. Conspicuously left out of the press release: the course to be played.

However, the resort did confirm that players will be teeing up on The Norman Signature Course. As in, Greg Norman, the man currently helming a possible global golf tour hostile to the PGA Tour’s interests. I’m sure it’s just part of a slow drip approach to revealing this exciting news.

For Immediate Release:

Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México to host Mexico Open

Grupo Salinas, PGA TOUR continue commitment to promote golf in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – The PGA TOUR and tournament host, Grupo Salinas, announced today that Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México will host the 2022 Mexico Open, April 25-May 1, 2022, previously listed on the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule as the Mexico Championship.
The Mexico Open, which dates back to 1944 and is considered Mexico’s national championship, will appear on the PGA TOUR schedule for the first time as an official FedExCup event, offering 500 FedExCup points to the winner and a purse of $7.3 million. The field of 132 players will include 12 sponsor exemptions, with a minimum of four players from Latin America.

Since 2017, Grupo Salinas partnered with the PGA TOUR to stage a TOUR event in Mexico – the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – with efforts to inspire and grow the game in the country, especially among juniors. Starting in 2022, the Mexico Open will continue Grupo Salinas’ commitment, uniting the PGA TOUR with the history of professional golf in Mexico in the form of the Mexico Open.

The new name and tournament venue were announced during a press conference in Mexico City, Mexico, featuring Fernando Lemmen-Meyer, President of the Mexican Golf Federation; Iván Chávez, Executive Vice President of Grupo Vidanta; John Norris, Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs of the PGA TOUR, and Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice President of the Board of Directors of Grupo Salinas. Also in attendance were PGA TOUR members Carlos Ortiz and Abraham Ancer. Both Ortiz (2020 Vivint Houston Open) and Ancer (2021 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational) captured PGA TOUR events during the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season, becoming just the third and fourth citizens of Mexico to win on the PGA TOUR. Ancer, who played for the International Presidents Cup Team in 2019, recently qualified for his third straight TOUR Championship in 2020-21, finishing ninth in the FedExCup. 
“At Grupo Salinas we are honored to host a world-class event in our country, reaffirming our commitment to grow golf in Mexico and to generate new interests and passions around this sport, especially in younger generations,” said Benjamín Salinas Sada, Vice president of the board of directors of Grupo Salinas. “For this reason, we are convinced of the importance of taking this type of events to other locations within the country and thereby sending a clear message; golf is not owned by just a few, it belongs to everyone: that is what we will always defend at Grupo Salinas.”

The press conference highlighted the progress of The First Tee México program, a non-profit organization, launched by Grupo Salinas in 2017, which has promoted golf and its values ​​for the development of Mexican young generations. The First Tee Mexico has grown to include nine chapters and has made a positive impact on more than 250 young people through the game of golf, promoting key societal values such as honesty, respect, trust, integrity, perseverance and teamwork. 

“We’ve worked closely with Grupo Salinas since the inception of the Mexico Championship in 2017. As tournament hosts, Grupo Salinas has been first-class in every respect – making this stop a favorite among our players while entertaining fans in Mexico and around the world,” said John Norris, PGA TOUR Senior Vice President of Tournament Business Affairs.

In the United States, the event will be broadcast live on CBS, Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ and Sirius XM PGA TOUR Radio. 

"If only you could break away from the constraints of having someone else tell you how many holes you must build."

CNN’s Sean Coppack filed an excellent story and video feature on “how Iceland could reshape the world of golf". I could not embed so you’ll need to hit the link to watch.

There are some amazing reveals and scenery, but this on a course called Brautarholt, whose founder Gunnar Palsson shares words of wisdom about 12 holes. Or whatever is the right number for a site.

"This used to be agricultural land, but that had been declining," Palsson tells CNN Sport. "This land has been in the family for hundreds of years and there were some generational shifts and we decided to build a golf course."

Opening originally as a nine-hole course in 2011 before expanding to 12, Brautarholt was designed by renowned Icelandic architect Edwin Roald.

Roald has attracted plenty of attention in recent years with his "why 18-holes?" movement, a philosophy that suggests golf course design would be improved if architects worked to create the best course for the space they have, rather than cling onto the "antiquated" notion that every course must be 18-holes long.

"When you have limited resources, you are forced to use what nature has given you," Roald told Links magazine in 2017. "If only you could break away from the constraints of having someone else tell you how many holes you must build.

"It is the same as writing books, or making movies. Imagine if all books had to be exactly 200 pages, or a film had to last 95 minutes. Would they be as good?"

A Year Later, Cleeve Hill Hosts A "Not Closing" Party

Just a year after facing closure, the wild hilltop links that’s seen design work by Old Tom Morris and Alister MacKenzie celebrated its salvation and future of better care thanks to “Nick & Sam” of Cotswold Hub.

Congrats to all on saving this spectacular place in the game and for enjoying your work. A short video from the day by Cookie Jar Golf, who brought attention to the courses plight with a mini doc (embedded below).

World No. 1 Amateur Earns His Way Into Masters, The Open

Keita Nakajima is the third Japanese golfer to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship after beating Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho in a playoff.

The 21-year-old Nakajima is now headed for the 2022 Masters where a practice rounds seems inevitable with defending champion Hideki Matsuyama.

Nakajima’s win caps off a stellar year for Japan golf. Besides Matsuyama’s historic win, Nasa Hataoka lost in the U.S. Women’s Open playoff and More Inami was the silver medalist in Tokyo.

Final round highlights and the trophy ceremony attended by Augusta National Chairman Fred Ridley and R&A Chief Martin Slumbers:

🏆 @keita_nakajima2's winning round in under 6️⃣0️⃣ seconds 👇

🏆 中島啓太の勝利のラウンドは6️⃣0️⃣ 秒未満で👇 pic.twitter.com/kcRxSwUdof

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) November 6, 2021

Here's what our Champion @keita_nakajima2 had to say after becoming the first reigning World Number One to win the AAC 👇#CreatingHeroes pic.twitter.com/NuakYLh0eG

— Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (@AAC_Golf) November 6, 2021

Kenyon Points Out The Inconsistency Of New Green Reading Rules

The pending rule change attempting to restore certain skills by killing off green reading books and other gizmos has run into some criticism. And the point is a legitimate one but I have an easy solution.

Short game specialist Phil Kenyon argues in an Instagram post at the oddity of going after levels and other machinery possibly used to test green conditions. This seems like an effort to cut down on the number of people on greens, devices on greens or, if you’re a bit forward thinking, players bringing Stimpmeters or moisture-reading devices into the practice round equation. The entourages also add unnecessary traffic on the greens. Mostly, the art of golf’s rugged individualist scouting out things on their own is in danger.

Still Kenyon makes this point:

So you can take a TrackMan or quad or range finder on to the course and check how certain shots or holes “play” yardage wise but you can’t take a level onto a “practice” putting green to calibrate your feel for slope.

What a ridiculous rule. It’s stupid in fact. It serves no purpose. It’s indeed skill limiting.

I actually don’t think the governing bodies understand the complexity of the scenarios in front of them.

Is using a level in practice hurting the game more than how far the ball goes or the speed of play ?

There is an inconsistency here. Tee to fringe players can max out the technology and outside sources to gain insight, but once on the greens they must revert to conditions of a decade ago.

The easy solution: lose the launch monitors on the course. Oh, and stop providing slope-adjusted yardages in official books.

As for the ball going too far and slow play, well those two go hand in hand.

Kenyon’s full post:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Phil Kenyon (@philkenyonputting)

Forget Disneyland, The Braves Are Going To Augusta

Thanks to reader GS for Jeff Passan’s look back at the Atlanta Braves’ improbable late season turnaround and behind-the-scenes anecdotes that included this:

The celebration at Minute Maid differed by the square foot. In one area, Pederson was running up to Terry McGuirk, the Braves' chairman, and yelling: "We're going to f---ing Augusta! Hell yeah! I f---ing told you." McGuirk, a member at Augusta National, had told players that if they win a World Series, he can swing getting them a tee time.

Saudis Add Key Executives; Norman Teases Australia Stop And Questions PGA Tour's Attempt At A Counter

A couple of reveals in the tussle between the upstart Asian Tour co-sanctioned Greg Norman helmed league.

ESPN.com’s Bob Harig reports that two executives with impressive careers in sport have joined the team, headlined by former PGA Tour and Augusta National executive Ron Cross. Also signing on as Chief Commercial Officer is a former ESPN executive, Sean Bratches, a key figure in F1 who managed their commercial operations until 2020.

Cross most recently worked at the PGA Tour as senior vice president of corporate affairs. Before that, he was special assistant to commissioner Jay Monahan and at one time prior to working at Augusta National he was executive director of the Players Championship. Cross also worked as a senior director at Augusta National for eight years and helped with various grow-the-game initiatives including the Drive, Chip & Putt, the Asia-Pacific Amateur and the Latin-America Amateur.

Bratches was executive vice president of sales and marketing and served on the board of directors at ESPN before becoming managing director of commercial operations for Formula 1.

Rex Hoggard spoke to Cross for a GolfChannel.com story explaining how thins ended with the PGA Tour for the former top advisor to Commissioner Jay Monahan.

When Jay Monahan took over as PGA Tour commissioner in 2017, Cross returned “back home” to where he started his career in golf. “I thought I’d retire at the Tour, but unfortunately the pandemic hit,” he said. As the pandemic hurt the circuit’s business his position was “eliminated” in December 2020.

Cross holds no hard feelings towards the Tour. He understands better than most the reality of a global pandemic on nearly every business. But he also understands – again, better than most – that the product can always be better.

“Continuous improvement,” he said, “that’s what we learned from [the late Clifford Roberts] and Mr. Payne at Augusta. It’s what everybody in golf strives for. You want to make the experience better for fans, for players, for clients, for volunteers.”

Besides teasing an Australia event, Greg Norman responded to an AP story suggesting the PGA Tour is looking at several options as possible responses to disruptor Tours and the coming demise of WGC’s.

Ferguson writes:

The PGA Tour is contemplating a “global series” in the fall with big purses, no cuts and appearance money based on a player’s FedEx Cup standing. It is looking into another bonus program for the top five going into the Tour Championship.

Norman’s reply at Australia Golf Digest:

“Isn’t that their fiduciary responsibility, to be doing that every year?” Norman asks. “Shouldn’t that be the precedent they set, rather than being reactionary to somebody else’s proposal? I shake my head because I’m just so perplexed about it all. I’ve been involved in golf for 40-plus years, and I think I’ve come up with some pretty good ideas based off a few observations. They’re not ‘Greg Norman’s observations’, they’re simply observations the sport should be seeing for itself.”

Norman was kind in his assessment given that the ideas floated merely compound an issue some top players would like to see change: the creation of an off-season.

Quadrilateral: Major(s) News And Notes, November 4, 2021

This week’s News and Notes already landed via email but here is the weekly free edition brimming with joyful anecdotes about the biggest events in golf. Included this week are some thoughts on the sneaky-huge ramifications of PGA Tour players taking initiative on the skill discussion, plus notes on Ryder Cup shirts of yesteryear, next year’s Women’s Open finally securing official tournament dates, a dreamy view of the Old Course up for sale and more.

As always, you can get a better understanding of what The Quad is about here or sign up for free here.

Sportico Estimates Highest Paid Athletes Of All Time: Tiger, Arnold, Jack In The Top 4

Based on inflation adjusted earnings and some guestimating about endorsement income, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus landed in the top 4 of Sportico’s list of highest paid athletes of all time.

Phil Mickelson landed 11th and Greg Norman 15th. Not bad for a niche sport.

Dress Code Not Helping At Saudi Laudies International

Remember ladies, you can eat at restaurants now according to Greg Norman so whatever discomfort you suffer adhering to the Saudi dress code is a small price to pay for the privilege of eating out.

Darren Walton of AAP reports world No. 5 Minjee Lee’s comments prior to this week’s Saudi Ladies International about coping with heat while adhering to the local dress code.

“We have to cover our legs so we don’t show too much skin so it just feels like we’re in like body suits in really hot heat.

“(Dress) below the knees for women. No sleeveless (tops), no shoulders showing.

“It’s just a respect thing but it does feel hot.”

Competing by the Red Sea in King Abdullah Economic City, Lee suspects the unique challenge will be as much psychological as physical.

“Mentally, because you’re always sweating and you never really cool down, that will be the main challenge,” the world No. 5 said.

“I just played nine holes and I was cooked. But 18 holes, I mean, it’s going to take, what, five hours to go around this golf course?

“So it will be testing all parts of your mental strength, I think.”