Radical new plan for golf would feature 'Premier League' with $240 million prize pot and three-day tournaments

Under the Premier Golf League proposals, 10 of the 18 tournaments would be played in the United States and would feature a shotgun start. Picture: Getty Images

Under the proposals, 48 players would compete in 54-hole tournaments with no cut and an individual and team league format, with the weekly individual winner claiming $2m (£1.5m) of the $10m (£7.5m) purse.

The overall individual champion will receive a $10m (£7.5m) bonus and there will be a $40m (£30m) team prize fund, with $14m (£10.7m) split between the winning four-man team.

"Selected" players would be given "part ownership of a team franchise and the chance to share in the significant equity value".

The planned eight-month season would begin in January, with 10 of the 18 tournaments played in the United States and featuring a shotgun start to fit in a five-hour broadcast window.

The individual champion would be decided after 17 weeks and the 18th event would be a team play-off.

A Q&A released on behalf of Premier Golf League Limited, which claims to be a subsidiary of World Golf Group Limited, states: "Our players will only be required to play 18 events per season and will get four months off - without the pressure of knowing that others are accumulating points while they recharge.

"They'll play three days not four - putting less strain on their bodies - and will be part of a team, with team benefits. They will, of course, be required to travel, but on a sensible schedule; and we'll place them in situ before each of the majors."

The concept of a "World Golf Tour" has been around for more than 20 years, with former world number one Greg Norman unveiling his plans in 1994 but failing to gain any traction.

The Premier Golf League (PGL) pointedly makes reference to this in their Q&A, claiming that Norman's plan "resulted in a threat to ban its participants and the creation of four World Golf Championships - all in the US. The world is now a different place, restraint of trade laws have changed, and the League is a very different proposition."

The PGL also suggest that a refusal to allow its players to earn vital world ranking points "might be deemed anti-competitive" and believe that players would not lose their lucrative PGA Tour pensions if they joined PGL.

Asked on Friday by the PA News agency if he was concerned about the potential threat to the European Tour, chief executive Keith Pelley replied: "No."

Pelley added: "We're not in the habit of talking about the business of other tours, whether they are true or fictional.

"We focus on the business of our tour and the growth that we're having right now so I don't really have much more to say.

"I think they've been trying to move forward for eight years, but I can't comment on other tours. I wouldn't comment on the business of the PGA Tour or certainly one that is not real."