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A Publication of the National Golf Foundation

Questions, Answers and Insights for Everyone Interested in the Business of Golf

NGF TOP 100 BUSINESSES IN GOLF

PGA TOUR

Category

Corporate Headquarters

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Website

http://www.pgatour.com

Key Employees

Jay Monahan, Commissioner
Ron Price, Chief Operating Officer
Tom Wade, Chief Commercial Officer
Andy Pazder, Chief Tournaments & Competitions Officer
Rick Anderson, Chief Media Officer
Allison Keller, Chief Administrative Officer
Dan Glod, SVP, Global Sponsorship and Development 
Tyler Dennis, SVP & Chief of Operations PGA TOUR

Profile

The PGA TOUR is the biggest, richest and most powerful platform in professional golf — a $2 billion business that oversees far more than the tournaments and star players that fans see playing for millions of dollars in prize money every week.

The PGA TOUR co-sanctions more than 130 official-money tournaments on six tours – the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour–PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Series-China. Members on the PGA TOUR represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories, including almost 100 who are from outside the United States. The PGA TOUR’s interests extend even further, including its TPC Network that’s comprised of more than 30 premier private, resort and daily fee golf properties (TPC Sawgrass at the TOUR’s Ponte Vedra Beach headquarters is the most famous among them).

The PGA TOUR’s mission is multifaceted: to entertain and inspire its fans, deliver value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back, generate significant charitable and economic impact in the communities in which it plays, grow the game of golf, and provide financial opportunities for its players.

The 18th hole at TPC Sawgrass, site of the PGA TOUR’s Players Championship. (Photo courtesy: PGA TOUR)

The total prize money for the PGA TOUR’s 49 official tournaments is a record $376 million for the 2019-20 season, with nine events in eight countries outside the United States. Another $70 million in prize money is awarded after the season-ending FedExCup playoffs.
The PGA TOUR will bring in approximately $700 million annually through its latest television contracts with CBS, NBC and Golf Channel, according to reports. The newest media rights deal included significant rights-fee increases while keeping golf on broadcast television, thus ensuring the widest possible viewership.
Almost all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving. In 2018, tournaments across all Tours generated a record $190 million for local and national charitable organizations, bringing the all-time total to $2.84 billion.
“We take very seriously our role as caretakers,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan, who replaced Tim Finchem at the beginning of 2017. “When you look at caretaking, celebrating, motivating, really inspiring people to play this great game, when we’re successful on those fronts, the PGA TOUR and this great game will accomplish super things for a long time to come.”

While there’s occasionally some confusion among golfers and non-golfers alike, the PGA TOUR is a different organization than the PGA of America, which is the membership organization for the nation’s club professionals.

The PGA TOUR and PGA of America were actually affiliated until 1968, when tour players – a small subset of the total PGA membership – broke away and formed the Tournament Players Division in order to gain more control of their finances and tournament schedule. That division was renamed the PGA TOUR in 1975 and the organization’s total revenues would grow from $3.9 million to $229 million over the next two decades. The PGA TOUR reported $1.28 billion in revenue in 2017.

NGF Takeaways

The PGA TOUR over the years has continued to strengthen its core business (tournaments) and significantly expand its global reach. The TOUR’s members now hail from 28 countries and its events are broadcast to more than 1 billion households in 226 countries and territories – in 23 languages.

The PGA TOUR has firmly established itself as the biggest and most influential professional tour in the game, in many respects shaping the way the sport is perceived and consumed.

Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations that help the PGA TOUR maximize its charitable giving. And that giving is substantial, with total donations closing in on $3 million all-time.

 

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