On the eve of the Tour Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan provided his lengthy season's end address to the media. He discussed a wide variety of topics during the press conference that lasted seemingly forever. Monahan kindly felt it prudent to share his condolences to Grayson Murray's family to begin.
Murray, the PGA Tour veteran, sadly passed away in May after taking his own life.
After the heartwarming address, Monahan unveiled three common themes to the press conference: Innovation, engagement and momentum.
PGA Tour engaging fans with insight from NFL, MLB, NBA
The PGA Tour brokered a deal with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of professional sport team owners, last year. That deal brought a couple billion dollars onto the table, as well as keen insight into growing the sport.
“Fans are at the center of everything that we do. Their voice propels us. Recently, we launched a new initiative called Fan Forward, specifically as a way to engage directly with our core stakeholders, identify opportunities for innovation, and accelerate the PGA TOUR into the future,” Monahan said.
“The first step in this work is a comprehensive research effort which is well underway. We've already received over 30,000 responses to our initial survey.
“This process is modeled off of what MLB and the NFL did to drive innovation within their own products, and we're drawing on the expertise of our investors at Strategic Sports Group to help get this right,” said Monahan.
Strategic Sports Group (SSG) is comprised of John Henry (Red Sox), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Steve Cohen (Mets), Wyc Grousbeck (Celtics), to name a few.
The PGA Tour, in its attempts to keep players from leaving for LIV Golf, increased purses and found itself in unsustainable financial waters. The infusion of cash and insight from SSG is sure to make a large difference in the PGA Tour product.
“From restructuring our schedule to end our FedExCup Playoffs before Labor Day, to introducing new elements such as player walk-and-talk interviews within our broadcasts, to offering more behind-the-scenes looks at the PGA TOUR via Full Swing, Fan Forward builds on a years-long effort to give our fans more of what they crave from the PGA TOUR.”
“We'll be reviewing the findings in the fall, and I truly look forward to sharing next steps on this important work in the coming months.”
PGA Tour innovates new experience for global fans
Monahan then pivoted to the next initiative that should excite golf fans around the world.
As the current golfing broadcasts stand, a fan in Asia is watching the same broadcast, with the same shots and announcers as a fan here in the States. That is about to change.
“In the past and for example, if a fan in Tokyo wanted to watch Hideki Matsuyama's win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, they watched basically the same broadcast as a fan here in Atlanta.”
“Going forward… we're launching our new world feed, which will allow us to customize the presentation of PGA TOUR golf for markets worldwide. That means the same Japanese fan will watch a broadcast that's more customized to him or her, with focused coverage of Japanese players and with Japanese commentators and graphics.
This new World Feed is scheduled to begin at the 2025 Players Championship and will resume all season.
Additionally, the PGA Tour will launch a new broadcast approach during the Fall schedule. Fans will still see the traditional broadcast on Thursday but Friday, things will be different. The television coverage will provide more features, giving fans a closer, more intimate look at the golfers themselves. As the cut line approaches, the goal is build personal drama alongside a deeper insight of how much it means to a given player.
Golf engaging fans on their terms
Everyone knows that golf is growing around the globe. Not only that, but fans are getting younger. That was seen coming out of the pandemic and has only been exacerbated since.
The emergence of YouTube Golf, for instance, has made a large impact among golf fans. Bryson DeChambeau, recognizing this trend, has become the preeminent pro in this space, creating new types of content for fans to indulge. That was something that was strictly forbidden by the PGA Tour in the past; hence DeChambeau heading to LIV.
But times are changing and so is the Tour, for the better.
“… Those younger fans' relationship with golf is being shaped by innovative technology and new personalities and influencers who present fresh original content on YouTube and other digital platforms,” Monahan said. “We want to deepen our relationship with these new platforms and influencers so they can more directly connect their fans with our world-class athletes.”
“My favorite example is the event we're hosting this afternoon at East Lake. It's the inaugural Creator Classic. The tournament will feature 16 popular content creators with a combined 142 million followers around the world. The Creator Classic will be streamed live on PGA TOUR YouTube channel, Peacock and ESPN+, and the response from fans and from the content creators themselves has been overwhelming.”
Thus far, there have already been over a million video views on YouTube of the new content. Golf influencers like Paige Spiranac and Good Good have massive followings. It only makes sense to tap into this emerging audience with creative content. Honestly, it is about time the PGA Tour moved into the new era of the 21st century.
PGA Tour deal with LIV Golf progressing?
One of the more common topics asked of Monahan related to the pending deal with the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The Saudi PIF is the beneficiary of LIV Golf, having bankrolled its inception a couple of years ago.
Despite an initial self-imposed December 2023 deadline, a deal is yet to be reached.
The PGA Tour commissioner kept his answers brief on the subject, as usual.
“I think the best way for me to respond to that is when you look at where we are right now, we're in regular dialogue. We have the right people at the table with the right mindset. I see that in all of these conversations, and that's both sides. That creates optimism about the future and our ability to come together,” said Monahan.
“But at the same time, these conversations are complex. They're going to take time. They have taken time, and they will continue to take time.”
That sounds like coach speak pertaining to the standstill in negotiations.
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