Former European Ryder Cup skipper Paul McGinley has issued a stark caution to golf's two main tours, underlining that they might be on the brink of financial ruin if they don't curb the current trend of rapidly increasing prize money.
This comes in response to the colossal stakes pumped into the sport since LIV Golf, buoyed by the deep pockets of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), burst onto the scene two years back.
To stave off LIV Golf's charm, both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour have escalated their prize funds to keep their star players from jumping ship. McGinley views this surge as a precarious gambit that may pose dire consequences down the line.
As he spoke to Irish Golfer Magazine, he said: "The world's two main tours have always been member organisations.
"That has worked well for over 50 years, but in this modern world of top-level sport, that dynamic is turning into a double edged sword, as there seems to be too much focus on the present and not enough on the future of the Tours and their financial sustainability.
"Granted, they have had to react to the emergence of a serious rival, but if things continue as they currently are, then the established Tours are on the road to being unsustainable and maybe even bankruptcy."
The PGA Tour has landed a colossal deal with the Strategic Sports Group, securing a whopping £2.4billion for PGA Tour Enterprises, as it navigates through the staggering investments being funnelled into the LIV circuit.
McGinley has expressed his view that LIV Golf currently holds an advantage over the PGA Tour. He commented: "The player power pushing the enormous prize funds, as well as being paid through PIP and SSG money with the implied threat that they go to LIV if it's not provided, has the PGA Tour on the ropes.
"The business model is being stretched to its maximum, and with viewing figures declining, how much longer will sponsors and partners be willing to pay the increasing amounts they are now while there is no clarity on what the future holds?"
Highlighting the significant drop in viewership, McGinley noted that average Sunday viewers on the PGA Tour plummeted to 2.2 million in 2024, marking a steep 19 per cent fall from the previous year.
Rory McIlroy has also shared his worries, linking the dip in golf's popularity to internal conflicts. "If you look at the TV ratings of the PGA Tour this year, they're down 20 per cent across the board," McIlroy stated earlier this year.
"That's a fifth. That's big. I would say the numbers on LIV aren't great either in terms of the people tuning in.
"I just think with the fighting and everything that's gone on over the past couple of years, people are just getting fatigued, and it's turning people off men's professional golf, and that's not a good thing for anyone."
