ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Open begins tomorrow at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England. But once again, the conversation about golf’s final major has been dwarfed by word that Saudi Arabia wants to get involved.
And by ‘get involved,’ we mean money - lots of it.
The Open has the smallest purse of the majors, but you get the feeling that’s about to change.
The R&A oversees The Open, and their leader is Martin Slumbers. One year ago, Slumbers was one of the fiercest critics of the LIV Tour. But today, Slumbers said the world of sport has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, and it’s not feasible for the R&A or golf to just ignore what is a societal change on a global basis. Translation: more money is on the way.
Slumbers says The Open does not want a title sponsor since it’s already one of the world’s most celebrated tournaments. But he added that they are looking at all options, including a healthy hit of cash from the Saudis to lift The Open.
At the end of last year, the PIF (Public Investment Fund) as it’s known had $778 billion to invest domestically and internationally. Here’s a guess: seems like they’re good for it, no matter how much it is!