DP World Tour Chief Keith Pelley to Leave For New Job
Keith Pelley, the man who has helped to transform the DP World Tour, is reportedly quitting his post as chief executive to take up a similar job with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
Pelley, who was president of Rogers Media before leaving in 2015 to lead European golf, has reached an agreement to oversee one of North America’s largest sports and entertainment groups.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has assets in four of the six major sports leagues in North America, with primary holdings of the Toronto Maples Leafs and the Toronto Raptors.
Pelley’s departure could hardly have come at a worse time for the DP Worold Tour as talks continue to try to achieve some sort of a framework with the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
Pelley negotiated a $5 billion rights contract to the NHL for Rogers Media before leaving in 2015 to take charge of European professional golf. He brought creativity and fresh ideas to a tour that didn’t have nearly the resources of the PGA Tour. Pelley is an innovator, a man who was not afraid to take chances, and he will be sorely missed.
(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)
He struck a deal with Dubai-based DP World in 2021 to rename the circuit to the DP World Tour. He introduced one tournament using a shot clock, another involving six-hole competitions and he launched tournaments that saw men and women competing alongside one another. He is a man who was not afraid to take on the establishment and who worked tirelessly to end golf’s stuffy image.
Pelley also chose to align the European Tour with the PGA Tour in a strategic alliance that now includes co-sanctioned events for both members, the Scottish Open and two tournaments on the PGA Tour held opposite stronger events.
Ten leading players from the European Tour's Race to Dubai earned PGA Tour cards this year through part of that alliance.
His departure comes hours after Martin Slumbers announced that he was stepping down as chief executive of The R&A.
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