“Any new leader must be humble enough” - Golf insider reveals new details on PGA Tour CEO chase

The PGA Tour is currently looking for a new CEO with Korn Ferry's help for a while now. It is, according to Sports Business Journal's Abraham Madkour, a steady search that is coming at a time of great importance for the Tour.

The merger with PIF is gaining a lot of steam, and the incoming CEO will either have to see to an end to those negotiations or take over with all the changes the merger might bring.

Madkour said:

"The CEO’s first mission will be a massive listening tour — of players, tournaments, sponsors, partners, and fans. Every one of those groups has its own specific wishes, and many run counter to each other."

The insider provided a little bit of advice for the incoming CEO as well:

"Any new leader must be humble enough to know they don’t have all the answers. This job will be a tough putt, and any change will take time. More than one source has likened it to moving a battleship."

Madkour said that the PGA Tour is a job "full of opportunity" as well as a massive audience, Madkour says there's an opportunity for significant growth, and there is a "healthy audience that is passionate, cares and wants and expects more." Those are, in the analyst's eyes, good things for any CEO to walk into.

As President Donald Trump continues to get involved with the PGA x PIF merger, things are seemingly finally moving a little more swiftly. The Tour agreed to a merger in the summer of 2023, and it's been over a year and a half with virtually no progress made.

This time, because of the merger and the CEO search, could prove to be monumental for the Tour's future. They must make the right decisions on both fronts, and Madkour believes they'll find the right person eventually, since it's an ideal situation to come into.

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Golf insider reveals what he's hearing on PGA Tour's SSG investment

To combat the surge of LIV Golf, Strategic Sports Group invested $3 billion into the PGA Tour last year; however, currently there's a bit of wonder about what the Tour is doing with that infusion of cash.

The PGA Tour was invested in by SSG (Image via Getty)

Abraham Madkour of Sports Business Journal said:

"Expect to see cost reductions, as SSG sees opportunities for efficiencies. Already, you are seeing executive changes, especially at its Championship Management arm, within the tour."

The insider said that SSG offers so many "smart resources" for the Tour to consult with. He likened it to Theo Epstein providing advice for top organizations everywhere.

He added:

"While SSG investors are being patient, let’s watch how active — and how frequent — the tour engages with those resources and new investors."

LIV Golf did slow the pace at which it was poaching star players from the PGA Tour last offseason, so the SSG investment may have worked.