Could a Single Global Golf Tour be in the Works?
By Ravi Coutinho
In a press conference on Tuesday, outgoing PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem mentioned his regret that his vision for a single global golf tour had not yet come to fruition. “We’ve done a lot of great things globally, and doing a lot of things in a hurry probably is not going to make sense globally anyway, but I would have liked to see a little bit more acceleration there,” Finchem said.
Despite those remarks, he reiterated his belief that a global tour was in the game’s future. “I still maintain that over time golf will come together,” Finchem told reporters.
While European Tour chief Keith Pelley has expressed skepticism over the idea in the past, he agrees that the possibility still exists of a future merger between the two tours. “Obviously, Finchem has been in the industry a lot longer than I have so he is probably better equipped to talk about it, but every decision we make will always be with our members at the forefront.”
A global tour would of course mean pushing out lower ranked members of each tour, with the European Tour members likely suffering more losses, but it’s hard not to see the appeal of bringing the world’s best players to the game’s top venues around the world. In just two weeks time, the European Tour will showcase some of Scotland’s best courses, with the Dunhill Links being played over Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, and the St. Andrews Old Course. Members of the Worldwide Golf Adventures staff will be attending the final round in St. Andrews, so check back soon for our recap from the Home of Golf!
