News Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was officially ending its funding of LIV Golf after this season led to plenty of speculation about the future of the circuit.
Some of that discourse, at least on social media, included the PGA Tour and whether the circuit was headed towards a financial rightsizing if the threat of LIV Golf was diminished. But a source familiar with the progress of the Tour’s Future Competitions Committee said that’s not the case.
“If the board approves the recommendation for the new model, even with the current news around LIV Golf, we are confident we will maintain purse levels on the PGA Tour for the foreseeable future – with a strong opportunity to increase them,” said source, who requested anonymity. “While the focus is on purse sizes, we also remain confident that the competitive and commercial work of the Future Competition Committee will increase the value of the players’ equity as owners in the model.”
Tour purses jumped dramatically in 2023 as a response to LIV Golf’s “irrational threat,” with signature events bumping up to $20 million. This year’s purse for The Players was $25 million and the Tour Championship will have a $40 million purse.
Purses are part of the Tour’s overall compensation plan which includes the player equity program, which began with the circuit’s move to a for-profit model; a substantial retirement program and playoff bonuses.
The source said the FCC is focused on “building sustainable competitive and commercial models that support our players over the long term” and added that the Tour sees “meaningful room for growth.”
The Tour’s policy board is scheduled to meet June 22 and during his press conference at The Players Championship, CEO Brian Rolapp was confident the board would have something more meaningful to announce.
“I can’t emphasize this enough; nothing has been finalized. We are still doing our work and gathering input from our players, our partners, and other key stakeholders. No recommendations have gone to our player-led boards,” Rolapp said in March at TPC Sawgrass. “Looking ahead, we expect to make more meaningful progress by this summer, and following our June 22nd board meeting, I plan to host another press conference at the Travelers Championship.”