Andrew Gardiner tried to kickstart the PGL (Image: X)
The PGA Tour knew there was trouble on the horizon when the concept of the Premier Golf League (PGL) appeared. However, it was the arrival of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) supported LIV Golf that truly shook the foundations of traditional golfing structures.
Andrew Gardiner, a UK-based corporate finance lawyer with a keen interest in , conceived the vision for the PGL – a league that would round up 48 elite for tournaments that featured 54-hole matches, shotgun starts, and no cuts, similar to LIV Golf’s format.
Despite being over a decade since its inception, the fate of the PGL remains uncertain. So, what actually happened to this concept of a new golf league that was eventually taken over in the market by ?
Rory McIlroy snub
Rory McIlroy shared his experience with the LIV and PGL factions, recounting how he turned down the latter all the way back in 2014. The Northern Irishman was adamant that sticking to tradition was what was good for golf, and branching off into new leagues would only bring about trouble.
McIlroy said in 2020: “Those guys (PGL) have been talking to a few of us for six years. They approached me at the end of 2014…I love the PGA Tour…I certainly wouldn’t want to lose what’s been built in the last 40 or 50 years.
“I’m still quite a traditionalist, so to have that much of an upheaval in the game I don’t think is the right step forward. But I think, as I said, it might be a catalyst for some changes on this tour that can help it grow and move forward and, you know, reward the top players the way they should be.”
McIlroy wasn’t a fan of the PGL (Image: Getty)
PGA Tour merger
Gardiner, whose idea was being foiled by LIV Golf, tried to make peace with the PGA Tour. He cited his own merger with the PGL and the PGA, which would see the events of both factions run alongside each other in the golfing calendar.
Justifying his idea in 2022, Gardiner told Today’s Golfer: “We want to work in tandem with the PGA Tour. We’ve done all the modelling and you can fit our 18 events into a schedule alongside 30 to 35 PGA Tour events, and there will be no overlap because of the different time zones. We will also have a feeder system so that within our four-month off season, which is what a lot of the top players actually want, there is a transfer period and automatic qualification from the PGA Tour up to the Premier Golf League.
“We want to give those outside the contracted 48 the ability to earn their way in and that’s where relegation and promotion comes from. So, you’ve got a real symbiosis between the two formats. It does it in a way that protects the PGA Tour’s brand and retains its history and legacy.”
Gardiner’s concept fell short as the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and LIV Golf signed a framework agreement in June 2023 to amalgamate their assets and merge. Although the merger has not been officially approved yet, it essentially dashed any hopes of the PGL ever materialising.
LIV, then run by Greg Norman, were said to be in a legal battle with the PGL (Image: mpi34/MediaPunch/IPx)
LIV Golf lawsuit
The Times reported in February last year that a lawsuit between the PGL and LIV Golf was underway. It was alleged that the PGL was seeking compensation of up to £50million ($61m) in a dispute thought to be “around intellectual property”, with a more probable settlement being £10m ($12.5m).
Prior to LIV’s emergence, Gardiner’s proposed PGL format announced in 2020 was a league of 48 players participating in 18 events across 54 holes, with no cuts and shotgun starts, while also emphasising teams. This would see 12 teams each composed of four players, as well as a season-ending team event.
Gardiner pitched his plan to Saudi investors who chose not to invest. Instead, a subsidiary of the PIF, Golf Saudi, funded a new entity that was formally launched as LIV Golf in October 2021.
LIV launched in 2022, with 12 teams and 48 players and a 14-event schedule played over 54 holes with no cuts and shotgun starts. In an interview with Today’s Golfer in 2022, when asked if he was angry with the similarity of his vision and LIV’s format, he said: “I’m not angry at all.
“We see [LIV] as a testament to us because it is, for all intent and purposes, the same format that we devised.” It remains unclear whether the lawsuit has been settled or if it continues to be an active legal matter.