Peter Malnati believes golf should refocus on the narratives unfolding on the course, expressing his belief that fans are weary of the emphasis on monetary aspects dominating the professional game.
The American won the hearts of the sporting world after a two-stroke victory at last week’s Valspar Championship, where he broke down during an interview after completing his first PGA Tour triumph in nine years.
The triumph came shortly after the PGA Tour Policy Board member, along with PGA Tour board members and representatives from the Strategic Sports Group, flew to the Bahamas to meet Public Investment Fund (PIF) governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, to discuss PIF’s potential investment into PGA Tour Enterprises.
With the injection of vast sums of money on both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf being the talk of the town in the game in recent years, Malnati understands why his fairy-tale win resonated so much with fans.
"We can all probably remember when we were kids, and we were all kids at different times, but the things that moved us that we watched," Malnati said ahead of the Texas Children's Houston Open, live from Thursday on Sky Sports.
"I remember watching [Michael] Jordan and the '97 [Chicago] Bulls, I remember watching Tiger [Woods] in the 2000 Masters. I didn't care one iota what Jordan's contract was. I didn't care one iota what the winner's cheque at the US Open was. I think people are sick of that.
"I think people are just sick of the narrative in golf being about, you know, contracts on LIV, purses on the [PGA] Tour, guaranteed comp on the PGA Tour. I think people are so sick of that.
"They want to see people who are the best in the world at what they do it at a high level and celebrate that, celebrate the athleticism, celebrate the achievement.
"Obviously this is a business and to the top players who drive a lot of the value in this business, we've got to compensate them fairly. I think we're doing that above and beyond, and the narrative, the storylines, the conversation needs to come back to the product on the course and what we do.
"I just feel like no kid when they were watching Jordan dreamed of having his salary, they didn't care about that. They dreamed of being in that moment, hitting that shot. I think that's what our fans care about too and that's what they want to see.
"I hope those tears that I was crying on that 18th green had nothing to do with my share of that, what was it, an $8.4m purse last week. My tears had nothing to do with my share of that.
"I'm going to enjoy it and we're going to use it to do a lot of good in this world, but it had nothing to do with that. And I don't think our fans care about that either. I hope that connected with some people and I do think everyone out here who plays and competes would agree with me on that.
"I just hope that the story that we tell can come back to the best athletes in the world competing on the biggest stage in the world and doing it to show off this amazing skill that we have that can be so entertaining for people. I want that to be our story."
