The European Tour CEO Keith Pelley has played down talk of the PGA Tour absorbing the European Tour but the major players are talking more than ever.
‘I do get a kick out of people saying we are going to go bankrupt,’ Pelley told the McKellar podcast.
‘I had quite a chuckle when I heard people say the European Tour had to merge with the PGA Tour to survive financially – and to that I would say absolutely not.
‘I have been having conversations with [PGA Tour commissioner] Jay Monahan for the past three years [and] there is definitely a will for us to work together.
‘Those conversations are stronger than they’ve ever been. Where it leads I’m not sure, but I am optimistic the PGA Tour and European Tour will work closer together in the future because that’s a positive for our game. But any strategic alliance that happens between our two tours has to be significantly beneficial to our membership and the PGA Tour membership.’
The talks may have been ramped up by the emergence of the Premier Golf League, even if the world’s best players have downplayed switching their allegiance.
‘I’ve been consistent on this front in not commenting on something that doesn’t yet exist,’ added Pelley.
‘It’s not in the interest of our tour, and I think Jay feels the same, to create another entity in a sport which is already fractured. The combination of the new potential competitor combined with Covid-19 and now the relationship that we have heightens the chance of us working closer together.’
