As part of the closer ties between the two tours, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan will take a seat on the Board of the European Tour, although, somewhat tellingly, Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, will not get a set on the PGA Tour’s board.
The agreement between the two tours came together in a 72-hour period last week, Pelley said. In working closer with Monahan and other leaders as the game coped with COVID-19, Pelley said he came to the realisation the tours had more to gain by working together rather than independently.
“Let me be perfectly clear: We did not have to enter into this agreement or any other; we chose to because it’s in the best interests of both tours, for our players, for our golf fans, and for global professional golf,” Pelley said. “This partnership is an historic moment for the game of golf and is a fantastic opportunity for both the European Tour and the PGA Tour to explore ways to come together at the very pinnacle of our sport and work in unison for the benefit of the men’s professional game.
Today’s announcement is the formalisation of a closer working relationship between the Tours in recent years. It was one which was crystalised earlier this year when both Jay and I were part of the working group containing representatives of the four Majors and the LPGA, a group which helped shape the remainder of the golfing calendar for 2020 during unprecedented times. We shared the challenges of working through a year neither of us could have ever imagined and we found definite synergies in many areas of our respective Tours. That gave us the impetus to move forward together and arrive at this momentous announcement we are making today.”
Monahan said: “We are thrilled to announce this further strengthening of our partnership with the European Tour, and we look forward to working together for the benefit of the men’s professional game and for golf fans around the world.”
Details of how this partnership might work in terms of creating more co-sanctioned events, improve prize money in Europe, or lead to something close to a global tour, were not revealed.