Terry Duffy in June on the World Golf Corridor of Fame induction ceremony.
Getty Photos
NAPLES, Fla. — Terry Duffy, whose firm sponsors the LPGA’s season-ending occasion and is accountable for its file prize fund, says ought to different companies be enthusiastic about the same transfer, no, he wouldn’t inform them something.
He’d present them.
The CEO of the CME Group mentioned he’s even achieved so earlier than.
“I’d been requested when Mike Whan was nonetheless the commissioner of the LPGA — and I talked to Mike yesterday; he’s a fantastic good friend — he requested me, he had a sponsor that was enthusiastic about dipping their toes in,” Duffy mentioned. “And he mentioned, will you discuss to them? And I mentioned, no, however I’ll let you know what I’ll do: I’ll host them. And I introduced them right here and I confirmed them what we had.
“And generally whenever you take a look at it and see it and have a touchy-feely versus simply somebody telling you, that is actually good, your consumer goes to find it irresistible, and also you go, it appears like I’m being pitched by everybody else. That’s not what that is all about. I feel that is one in every of these occasions that you must expertise.”
Ought to anybody, although, be fascinated with watching Saturday’s third spherical of the CME Group Tour Championship on reside tv, they will’t. Protection might be proven solely on tape delay, from 4-7 p.m. ET on Golf Channel — and when the choice was introduced up by a reporter, Duffy’s first thought was each unsurprising and 4 phrases lengthy.
“That’s bulls**t, isn’t it?”
Speaking to a small group on Wednesday, a day earlier than the beginning of the event, Duffy then continued for about 5 minutes. He mentioned he voiced his frustration to the LPGA’s commissioner, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, and hoped that she would “make that not be the case.” He additionally mentioned he understood offers lengthy in place (in 2020, the PGA Tour and LPGA agreed to let the boys’s tour negotiate their home TV contracts collectively) and admitted he’s not “overly exercised” in regards to the transfer and — however “I might hope that individuals would acknowledge that when you’re going to proceed to construct ladies’s sports activities, you must give them the identical billing as males and cease — cease — the nonsense of claiming that, nicely, we’ve got to point out a males’s event as a result of they’re the boys.”
So what does Saturday afternoon’s reside TV schedule seem like? From 1-4 p.m. ET, Golf Channel will present the PGA Tour’s RSM Traditional, whereas on NBC, a Golf Channel accomplice, there’s a Premier League Soccer match from 12:30-2:30 p.m., adopted by a post-match present and two ladies’s faculty basketball documentaries which might be operating as a part of a preview for a 4 p.m. recreation. On Sunday, the event will obtain three hours of broadcast time, from 1-4 p.m. on NBC. (Notably, Saturday’s play could be seen from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on ESPN+ and from 2-5 p.m. on nbcsports.com.)
Did LPGA capitalize on ladies’s sports activities increase? Or did it fall quick?
For readability, under is many of the back-and-forth between Duffy and a reporter, with the reporter’s questions in italics.
“The third spherical right here is on tape delay.”
“That’s bulls**t, isn’t it?” Duffy mentioned.
“May extra have been achieved? Was time spent with that? Was there — might it have been …”
“I can do a number of issues and cash can treatment rather a lot, however it might probably’t treatment sickness, it might probably’t treatment sure issues,” Duffy mentioned. “I checked out that tape delay and I don’t prefer it. I agree with you. I feel that that’s inappropriate for a event of this magnitude to be on a tape delay. I’ve informed Mollie that I don’t like that. I’ll go away it in her fingers the place that finally finally ends up and hopefully she will work with the parents on the Golf Channel and others to make that not be the case.
“What’s vital to me, I don’t know anyone that watches 4 days of golf, to start out with, besides the Masters, possibly the U.S. Open and the British. I don’t know anyone that watches the PGA 4 days in a row. And I don’t imply to say that sarcastically, it’s just a few individuals catch snippets of it or else they’ll watch it later. And the explanation I’m not overly exercised is due to what I mentioned earlier. I’m in 200 nations world wide. Golf Channel’s world wide. Individuals can watch my occasion of their time zones, too. In order that’s additionally useful for the delays on sure issues. I’m not a fan of it, as a result of they will re-run it once more clearly like they do. However on the similar time, I might hope that individuals would acknowledge that when you’re going to proceed to construct ladies’s sports activities, you must give them the identical billing as males and cease — cease — the nonsense of claiming that, nicely, we’ve got to point out a males’s event as a result of they’re the boys.
“And I do know why they do it due to the connection and the deal they’ve with the boys. And I get it. So I’m not attempting to have them violate an settlement they’ve and I’m not asking for the Golf Channel to be put in a nasty spot. However there’s a number of alternative ways for content material to be distributed on the planet that we reside in at this time. I had my expensive good friend Vince Vaughn right here yesterday at my convention. And we talked in regards to the proliferation of synthetic intelligence and the proliferation of streaming and what’s occurring with the film theaters versus streaming. There’s so many alternative methods to get content material at this time. So I’m not suggesting we go a distinct route. However I don’t suppose Golf Channel is the one recreation on the town anymore. There’s a number of methods for individuals to get content material. …
Methods to lastly remedy gradual play? Oh, do Nelly Korda, different execs have ideas
May you could have …
“I didn’t attempt to affect the method,” Duffy mentioned. “I didn’t ask to affect the method.”
Notably, Duffy has beforehand voiced displeasure on the event. As reported in a narrative written by Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols — which you’ll learn in full right here — the CME Group had requested LPGA gamers to attend a dinner, however none got here, main Duffy to query LPGA management.
“I’m exceptionally disillusioned with the management of the LPGA,” Duffy mentioned in Nichols’ story. “They higher get their act collectively as a result of they’re going to lose individuals like me over stuff like this.”
