At a time when I should have been writing about Ryan Fox and the incredible golf he played at Royal Birkdale – especially the last six holes on Sunday – an announcement by three of the leading Tours on Tuesday has forced a change of plan.
Event Context
Hectic parleys between the Asian Tour, the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour during the Open Championship have resulted in the three of them forming an alliance.
When the PGTI shook hands with the DP World Tour, it ended its long association with the Asian Tour. It also ended the six-to-eight spots India would get on the Asian Tour as ‘country exemptions’. During this period, Indian golf saw the coming about of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), which now has a partnership with the Asian Tour. This year, the IGPL sponsored one event on the Asian Development Tour and one on the main Tour. In return, they get guaranteed spots in the final stage of the Asian Tour Q School and playing opportunities.
The DP World Tour and Asian Tour go back a long way, to 1999 when they started co-sanctioning events. In total, they have had 108 co-sanctioned tournaments. The fields will have to be divided between the Asian and European players, but the pathway becomes a lot better for them. A certain number of top players in the DP World Tour is much better than only a couple making it to LIV.
Player Focus
This follows five years of a partnership with LIV Golf, during which the Asian Tour benefitted from monetary assistance in conducting the International Series events, and also formed the development tour that was so critical for LIV in the early days.
One of the biggest reasons I have liked LIV Golf – apart from all the innovation, format, and other changes it brought – is how it financially boosted the Asian Tour. It was wonderful while it lasted. The International Series events were organised really well. For a few players, the opportunities to play alongside players like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and the chance to earn a lot of dollars, were fantastic.
While I can understand that LIV let go of the Asian Tour because of financial reasons, the decision creates a huge hole in their future plans. The Asian Tour addressed its churn issues and created a pathway for new players to join the League. Their Promotions (Q School) can take care of those wanting to join, but what happens to the players who do not keep their cards on LIV Golf?
There are a few important questions that need to be answered, at least for the sake of Indian golf.
There has been no official word so far, but rumours in the circuit have it that DP World Tour’s alliance with the PGTI is over at the end of this year. So, that one spot the PGTI Order of Merit would get, and the reported $1.2 million that the DP World Tour would pay to India, is coming to an end.
Team Analysis
The PGA Tour-DP World Tour alliance, has wielded yet another killer blow on LIV Golf. But more importantly, they have most major Tours on one side, which is always good for the game. In an ideal world, I would somehow have LIV Golf integrated in this whole thing as well.
Match Outlook
Obviously, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) withdrawing its funding for LIV, the organisation could not guarantee the Asian Tour its continued support. At the moment, it is fighting its own battle to secure a backer who can inject $350 million to keep the League going in 2027.
The LIV-Asian Tour deal, announced in 2021 by Greg Norman in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), was for five years, with the right to extend it for another five years. The first five years are up, and I believe the new contract was never signed at the start of the season.
It’s too early to find out what happens next, but these are important decisions to be made by the Asian Tour and the PGTI.
The bigger thing, of course, is how the Asian Tour gets back to its full schedule. Many of the International Series events are likely to become co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour. Hopefully, the DP World Tour will reinstate some of its events in Asia that they did not schedule this year (Singapore, Thailand and Japan).
