DP World Tour Pro Claims 'Some Of The Membership Have Lost Confidence' In Outgoing CEO Keith Pelley
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano has explained to Golfweek's Adam Schupak why he thinks Pelley leaving is a good thing
DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley is leaving his role to take up a position with Canadian sports media giants MLSE, and one pro has suggested that may not be a bad thing.
In an email to Golfweek’s Adam Schupak, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano said that Pelley, who will be replaced by Guy Kinnings on 2 April, had lost some support among the Tour’s members.
He explained: “I believe KP’s departure might be a good thing for the tour as some of the membership have lost confidence on his guidance over the last couple of months.”
Despite that assertion, the seven-time DP World Tour winner admitted the task Pelley had faced isn’t one he would have envied. He continued: “I wouldn’t have liked to be on his shoes over the last few years, when he had to deal with the pandemic and with very a poor financial situation, mostly created by poor management.”
During Pelley’s time in the role, he has helped foster closer ties between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour with their Strategic Alliance. That was strengthened in June 2022, and included an initiative to hand PGA Tour cards to the leading 10 players on the DP World Tour rankings at the end of the 2023 season.
As a result, stars including Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee will now play significantly more golf on the PGA Tour, and that’s something that Fernandez-Castano thinks has diminished the DP World Tour. He wrote: “I can’t really understand the logic of giving away your best 10 players every year to your biggest competitor.”
That's an issue that was touched on by Matt Fitzpatrick in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of Pelley’s departure, who, when asked by Golfweek what he considers his legacy to be, responded: “Probably giving away the 10 best players for Europe to the PGA Tour.”
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Despite his criticisms, though, Fernandez-Castano offered some thoughts on what he felt Pelley had done well, including his desire to innovate and his management during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He wrote: “On the bright side, he wasn’t afraid of innovations, as he proved with the Golf Sixes or the ShotClock events, and he did outstanding management during the 2020 season through the Covid pandemic where he got us playing back pretty fast in comparison with other sports.”
Ultimately, though, Fernandez-Castano felt Pelley’s tenure had been disappointing, and also wrote: “I’m afraid he leaves the Tour on a worse place than where he got it.”
Pelley had previously been president of Rogers Media in Canada before taking on his position at the DP World Tour in 2015.
Following the news he would return to his homeland to take on the new position overseeing the sports and entertainment group, he said: “When I came over from Canada back in 2015, I set out to create a culture of innovation and to grow our prize funds and our Tour for our members by ensuring that we appealed to new, younger and more diverse audiences.
“We have done that and so much more because our players, staff, partners, broadcasters and fans have all fundamentally bought into that philosophy that we are in the entertainment industry. I would therefore like to thank everyone for their support and commitment to innovation and evolution in our sport."
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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