PGA Tour denies bid for European buyout
The PGA Tour has not make an offer to take over the European Tour, commissioner Tim Finchem said Tuesday.
The Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph reported Monday in England that the U.S. tour was pursuing the European Tour and Finchem had conducted preliminary discussions with counterpart George O'Grady.
"Certain news reports today have indicated that the PGA Tour has made an offer to acquire the European Tour. Those reports are inaccurate," Finchem said in a statement. "However, as I have stated publicly on several occasions, the integration of professional golf can create additional value for our players, sponsors and fans.
"Such integration has been ongoing since 1994, with the founding of the International Federation of PGA Tours, and has led to the establishment of the World Golf Championships in 1999 as well as the World Cup as a Federation-sanctioned event. More recently, all the major golf bodies around the world worked together to bring golf back to the Olympic Games."
The PGA European Tour, created in 1972, lags behind the PGA Tour in prize money.
