DannyDuberstein said:
The players ARE the PGA. If they wanted the $$$ to flow differently, it was well within their power to change it. Again, a lot of this comes between the elite players and the rank-and-file. It's their league. It's not NFL, MLB, or the NBA. There is no ownership to deal with. They are the owners and always had the power
Players were busy focused on becoming the best golfers they could be. They trusted the PGA Tour to look out for their best interest, which is the PGA Tour's mission. Executives of the PGA Tour, a non-profit by the way, were content with their fat compensation packages - top 20 execs pulled down $57+ million, 8 made $2+ million with Monahan pulling down $18+ million per the latest form 990 - and arrogantly thought there would never be an alternative for players.
LIV comes along and the PGA Tour's & media's response is to bash with the "sportswashing" angle, conveniently omitting that the European & LPGA Tours have had events for years in Saudi, China, and other places known for human rights violations. LIV gets some big names, and whatta-ya-know, the PGA Tour suddenly comes up with much larger payouts via PIP and significantly increased purses, specifically for the signature events. Almost like a lot of what Phil was saying early on before LIV was actually correct.
The PGA Tour could have done all of this when LIV rumors were starting and it would have shut any alternative tour down. But they thought it wouldn't happen or would fail, so they didn't do anything until forced. Sad how it has played out for professional golf.