|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIPMay 23, 2017Keith PelleySurrey, England SCOTT CROCKETT: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your attendance with us this morning. This begins the build up to the PGA Championship, our first Rolex Series Event. As you see, I'm delighted to be joined on the stage by Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of The European Tour. Keith, before we move into some questions, if you just want to start us off with a few words. KEITH PELLEY: Thanks, Scott. Welcome, everyone, and thanks for coming to the first Rolex Series Event. I woke up this morning, looking at the weather, thinking about the golf course, thinking about the strength of the field, excited about today. And then I turned on SKY News and heard about the tragedy in Manchester. It's hard to believe that it's only a 160 miles away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families. It is quite astonishing, and as respect to them today, the Union Flag above the Wentworth Club will fly at half mast, and there will obviously be no music on the range today. You know, I've been here now 21 months from Canada and one of the things that I've learnt about the British people, is incredible resilience, and that resilience demands today that we keep calm and carry on, and that's exactly what we're going to do today and the rest of the week. But we definitely have a heavy heart today. This is, as I said, the first Rolex Series Event. It's hard to believe that it has come this quickly, and what a perfect place to have it at the BMW PGA Championship, two iconic brands coming together. It was just a year ago, and it's amazing what has transpired in just a year, when you think back about the challenges that we were having, and mainly around the golf course and players not satisfied with the greens, and we seen had conversations and pretty serious conversations with Reignwood at that particular time, and conversations with BMW, who are concerned for many years whether we would be able to continue with the BMW PGA Championship here at Wentworth, if, in fact, we didn't make significant improvements to the golf course. And Reignwood, definitely the new owners understood us. And it was right here at the BMW last year where I orchestrated the first meeting between Mr. Ni, the CEO, and Stephen Gibson, the CEO of Wentworth, and the first meeting had Thomas Björn in it and Thomas Björn spent about an hour explaining to Mr. Ni what I thought was the challenge with the golf course. After that, Thomas Björn left. Another separate meeting with Paul McGinley. And Paul, as articulate as he is and as intelligent, also stressed what needed to be done to improve the golf course, and make sure that the players felt that this was a golf course they felt that they wanted to play at. Reignwood then made the commitment, and they came to us and said, Okay, Keith, how can the European Tour take direction of this and take over this? And we brought in European Tour Golf Design. We hired Paul McGinley, Thomas Björn and David Jones, one of our board members, to work with the Ernie Els Design group and European Tour Golf Design, and Reignwood supported us financially and Stephen Gibson, the CEO provided his counsel. We made the changes over the last year and it's pretty astonishing that we were able to do it so quick. But we couldn't have done it not only with the Reignwood financial support and the support of all the members who wanted a golf course that was significantly improved; that we could have an elite tournament on but at the same time was playable the other 51 weeks of the year. And I think the group accomplished that. The greens are spectacular; 29 bunkers have been removed. Aesthetically, the golf course is considerably stronger. It is back to the Harry Colt-type design with the modern feel. And just walking with Dr. Chanchai yesterday from Reignwood, the chairman of Reignwood and the majority shareholder, obviously he was elated. But then when out of the blue, players came up to us, and Stephen Gallacher was walking by and he just said without knowing who we were with, he said, "The golf course's significantly improved. It's just absolutely fantastic and the greens are great." Kudos to our team of European Golf Design, and Paul McGinley and Thomas and thank you to the Ernie Els Design group. I think now we have an iconic golf course which matches what this iconic venue is. And now we can focus and concentrate our attention to plans for having this tournament here for the next ten years, as opposed to just worrying about the golf course. We will continue to make improvements over the next couple years, but certainly I'm very excited with where the golf course has come to. I'll move into Q&A very quick. I just wanted to mention something about the Rolex Series, because it's nice for it to be here, and as I said, it couldn't be a more appropriate location to launch the Rolex Series than at the BMW PGA Championship, both incredibly important brands, both support golf worldwide. They have done so much to not only support our tour, both BMW and Rolex, but as I said, supporting the game and both believe in not only our tour but in golf worldwide. The Rolex Series is one of, as you know, one of eight events. This year will be a minimum prize purse of 7 million. Although the prize purse is significant and important, the Rolex Series is so much more than just that. Coverage on SKY Thursday and Friday will see an increase of 33 percent. Saturday and Sunday the increase of coverage will be 50 percent. You'll see all kind of enhanced technology throughout the weekend on SKY, including now a pro tracker on the putting green, as well as the pro tracker on all the tees, which has certainly now becoming commonplace in elite golf coverage. We're excited about the promotion and the marking that has led up to it. Our ticket sales are significantly higher than that of last year. So we are on track to creating something special, as well as it goes without saying that BMW activate in terms of their sponsorship as well as anybody else does in golf. All you need to do is go down and take a look at the village this week to see that. They have a special little interactive booth that allows you to hit a shot in on 18, so you get to actually play the shot in on 18. It's just one of the great things that's happening in the village, and obviously with all the entertainment coming, great fans and a great field with spectacular weather, we're looking forward to a terrific weekend. So thank you all for coming for the first Rolex Series Event. Thank you for supporting The European Tour and I'll know open it up for some Q&A. Q. In light of the event in man chest you talk about, has security been reviewed and will it be stepped up at all? KEITH PELLEY: As with any event, security is the highest priority and it was before last night and we remain so. We're in constant dialogue with the police and secret security services. We obviously are familiar with issues in times like this. We have several meetings later on this afternoon, but we are comfortable that we will react the right way if, in fact, we need to significantly increase our security. Q. Just a quick follow-up. Will players wear black ribbons this week to be handed on the tee with a mark of respect? KEITH PELLEY: It's obviously 10.00 in the morning, so we are heading into some meetings later on shortly there after this, and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. I'll have Scott articulate that. Q. Just on this tournament, you said for the next ten years you'd like to see it here but what is the status of the contract with BMW and with Wentworth? My understanding was it was up this year. KEITH PELLEY: Publically, and this has been publically announced, that the BMW contract is to the end of 2018. We're confident that both parties will reach an agreement to move forward. BMW, as I said, has been a great supporter of ours. We would certainly love them to be long-term associated with the Tour, and those discussions are obviously confidential. The roads committee and Wentworth residents association and the club now have come to an agreement in principle and now we are going to spend the next couple of months working through some of the details and hopefully announce an extension of the tournament in the coming months. Q. You've spoken a lot recently about the Hero Challenge and the GolfSixes and all those events. Are some of those alternative ideas going to filter into the BMW PGA Championship at some time to bring maybe a Hero Challenge here or something to give everything -- to put everything into this event? KEITH PELLEY: I think there's obviously a lot happening right now in the European Tour with obviously the launch of the Rolex Series, innovation being at the top front. We launched a new website yesterday. We launched a new app. So we're constantly looking to improve our product. You know, GolfSixes was an interesting format that was successful by all accounts. There is a lot of learnings, but when you look at some of the statistics that we have now uncovered: 19 percent of the people that watched GolfSixes had not watched another European Tour golf event on SKY this year. It was the No. 2-rated golf event on the Golf Channel in the US this year. We have received all the feedback we have from our 32 players. We have received feedback from our stakeholders and starting to consolidate all the consumer data. And then afterwards, after the BMW, we have a couple of planning sessions and we are going to determine what we do in the next couple of months. Whether GolfSixes will be part of the BMW PGA Championship and the Rolex Series going forward, that is a discussion point at this particular time. I'm not saying this couldn't; I'm not saying it will. We need to determine what we're going to do with GolfSixes. Having said that, we will continue to try to be as innovative as we possibly can in everything that we do and that's why you'll start to see even things here at the BMW, the first tee, and we have two announcers this week that will bring on the fans. You'll see a big video board and it will be far more graphically-intensed and far more that we will be showcasing our players and our stars in different ways. There will be music on the range and videos on the range that will be different. Again, the village is far more robust than it has been in previous years, and our television coverage and our content platforms that we are committed to digitally has significant enhance resources given for this week. So at the end of the day, the BMW PGA Championship as part of the very first Rolex Series, is enhanced in many ways outside of obviously apprise purse that has been increased up to 7 million. Q. You said the Rolex Series, eight events this year, can you let you go in on the plans going forward? KEITH PELLEY: The 2018 schedule is something that's at the top of our priority right now. I have made a soft commitment that many of the players are going to turn into a hard commitment; that I have said that we will bring our schedule out earlier than we did last year. We're shooting for September 1. I think realistically, October 1 at what I think is the latest. And the schedule has many different twists and turns than last year, but right now, it is a jigsaw puzzle, and there are other opportunities for Rolex Series events. There's other opportunities for innovation. Obviously we monitor what's happening in the United States, as well. But I'm very optimistic that the 2018 schedule will again see an increase in the prize purse this year. We saw an increase in the prize purse of 16 million, which is the largest increase in ten years, or the last five years combined. But we also saw some great playing opportunities for our members, as well. So at the end of the day, for us, what we want to do, and if you really break it down, is to increase our prize funds, increase playing opportunities and driving additional revenue through innovation and a commitment to that. Q. How much of a disappointment is it that Sergio is not here as a European Masters Champion and what can you do other than sort of prize purses to attract those sort of players here? KEITH PELLEY: Well, if you take a look at the golfing landscape and you take a look at Sergio, if you take, for example, the professional landscape, there's 650 professional golf tournaments that play 72-hole tournaments every year. If you actually take that out and you focus just on the six large tours, The European Tour, the Australasian Tour, the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, The Asian Tour and the Japan Tour, there are more than 150 72-hole tournaments. So there is no question that the fractured golf world include an incredible plethora of opportunities for the players to play and they are world-class players. So we obviously have a wonderful relationship with Sergio. I believe he is supporting the BMW International Open coming up in a couple of months. He will also obviously be supporting the AndalucÃÂa Masters, which is part of the Sergio GarcÃÂa foundation. But we like to focus on who is here, and when you look at who is here, the field, we have The Open Champion, we have the Olympic Champion, we have four former world No. 1s, we have nine major champions, we have nine of The Ryder Cup members. This is a terrific field and it's significantly stronger than the field was last year. So we don't necessarily like to focus on who is not here. We like to focus on who is here, and then you add in the likes of our Ryder Cup Captain, Thomas Björn, the past Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke, Ian Poulter, Pádraig Harrington, Paul Lawrie, the list goes on and on and then you have some of the young players that, again, are coming up. It is a terrific field. But I do want -- because it's an interesting question, because you went right to, you know who, is not here. If you remember the whole concept behind the Rolex Series, is the Rolex Series is -- and this is our first Rolex Series Event, and I'm thrilled with where it is headed. But remember, its original concept and its original objective was to focus on the players and some of the younger players like the Pep Angles and the Dylan Frittellis, and Jordan Smith who now are going to grow up playing Rolex Series events; are now going to grow up playing events that are comparable to that on the other tour. And that, I think is a monumental step for our tour. And that, combined with all the other players that are coming to play the Rolex Series Event, and like I said, it is great that they are playing that first event here at the BMW, is terrific. So I think what you want to have is that conversation in five years, saying, has, in fact, the Rolex Series worked in five years, and it's not necessarily about who has come and played here, but who now maybe has not gone over there and taken up full PGA TOUR membership. Q. Just to follow up on that, what reason did Sergio give for not coming? KEITH PELLEY: I don't think Sergio gave a specific reason. He played last week in Texas. You know, your top players are going to play 22 to 25 events. That's what they are going to play in. So if they play in the four majors and the four WGCs, that only leaves them another, depending upon how many they are going to play, 13, 14 tournaments, and they try to do their schedule at the beginning of the year. And they did their schedule, and I guess Sergio did his schedule at the beginning of the year, and we always knew that this wasn't part of his schedule. But we know what Sergio's schedule is and we know where he's going to be playing and what Rolex Series events he's going to be playing in, and we'll announce those in due course. Q. Talked about young players, there's also a young Spaniard not here, Jon Rahm. What was his excuse for not coming? You must have spoke to him. KEITH PELLEY: You know, I don't think we'd ever use the word "excuse" to be honest with you. That is not the word that we would use. Jon Rahm, again, is a terrific player, great young Spaniard. Obviously grew up playing in the US. Remarkable, remarkable entrance into professional golf in the way that he qualified for US tour. And now he has said to us that he wants to play here in Europe. We will embrace him; any time that he gets a chance to play here in Europe we'll welcome him with open arms. He's obviously announced that he's going to play in The Irish Open. Again, I believe there will be another Jon Rahm announcement coming in the coming months. But no, we're very comfortable with Jon Rahm and his schedule and thrilled that he's going to play our tour and thrilled that he has taken up membership. Q. Interesting what you said about Sergio. Did you offer him any extra inducements to play or Jon Rahm, any extra inducements to play here this week? KEITH PELLEY: No, we didn't. Q. Obviously with The European Tour putting some of the money into these prize funds to get them up to the 7 million, does that make the Rolex Series a gamble for The European Tour and how long can you keep investing in the prize funds? KEITH PELLEY: Well, I think we have a terrific partner in Rolex. We obviously have some terrific partners in BMW and Aberdeen Asset Management and Dubai Duty Free, we are also going to commercialise our business differently than we have in previous years. As I said, we have developed a very sophisticated ticketing programme that is growing, and a hospitality programme. I believe that they are sustainable for a long period of time. I think the Rolex Series is something that a lot of you and a lot of our players led us to in terms of creating something special and something that can elevate our entire tour. And creating a new product, a signature event. And we are really excited about it. We are excited about -- you know, we are excited about the partnership with Rolex. We are excited that we can have such iconic brands that link with them. And again, I am very, very happy with the strength of field, and when you look at the strength of field here at the BMW, and you analyse the strength of field at the Irish, the Scottish, and the French, from previous years, and you move all the way down, and you start to see players like Jon Rahm who grew up, you know, his competitive golf in the US, wanting to come over and play here. We had two American players that were Top-100 players in the world that requested invites last week into this tournament and we rejected both invites and those to give those back to the field and focus again on our younger players. So we never had the aspirations of every single player is going to play in the Rolex Series. But we do know that the strength of the field is going to improve. We do know that -- just in my exchange with Rory, I know how disappointed Rory is for not being here this week. And you know, he's a world-class player. He's been incredibly supportive of the Rolex Series, and I know that he so desperately wanted to play. Obviously having the world's No. 2 is something that will be missed. But when you look at our field, when you look at Justin and you look at Henrik and they be you look at some of the young guns like Alex Noren and Tyrrell Hatton who you're going to hear from and you look at how well we're doing on the world stage and for them to come here and support the event and support the Rolex Series has been terrific. I can't tell you how many players have -- and these aren't necessarily the high-profile players, that over the past three to four weeks, even just yesterday in the players' lounge have stopped me and said, hey, thanks, I never thought that we'd ever play for 7 million on The European Tour. And for some of those players, when they make the cut this week, all of a sudden the prize purse, you know, for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, both of those particular tournaments, it's more than double, and it's a significant increase here at the BMW PGA Championship. So if I really think about where we're headed, and I think about our commitment to innovation and our belief that you need to be imaginative and you do need another way of engaging a younger audience; but at the same time, our core will always be the 72-hole tournaments, and iconic events like the Rolex Series, and what you're seeing here is further commitment to not only the tournament but our engagement to fans that are both experiencing the content across multiple platforms or experiencing it live. I'm quite excited. I was quite distraught early this morning after what transpired in Manchester, and it has me in a little more of a somber mood. But when I take myself out of that and I think about the Rolex Series, and I think about great partners like BMW and what we're trying to do here, we're going to grow this. We're going to build it. And we are. This is something that we had the vision for that this was a vision a year ago, the Rolex Series, and now it's reality. And everyone at The European Tour I know is very proud of that. Q. You talked about the commitment to innovation, and Rolex Series being 72-hole tournaments. Will there be Rolex Series tournaments, let's say two-day stroke play and then nine holes match play? Is that possible? You talked about even GolfSixes in this tournament. KEITH PELLEY: I think there will always be the -- again, I believe that the 72-hole tournament will always be at our core. It is who we are. It is what we do. And the majors, and the WGCs and the national championships and the Rolex Series events will continue to grow. But I think there is a narrative worldwide that is looking for golf to develop another format and be a little bit more innovative and we are going to lead that charge. We're going to be at the forefront of innovation. We believe strongly in it and we believe strongly that in order for us to grow our game, to maximise the commerciality of it, for us to continue to support our members in everything that they need to do, we need to be more innovative, not only with the format but everything that we do digitally, as well. And so I see that the Rolex Series Event will continue to be 72-hole tournaments but I believe innovation will occur throughout the Tour in many different ways. SCOTT CROCKETT: Keith, thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and enjoy the week. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|