"We definitely have a players first mentality" - Departing DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley talks about golf’s current situation in farewell video

Keith Pelley's tenure at the helm of European golf came to an end on Friday, March 29, and the former CEO released a farewell video addressed to the players and other members of the organization. In the video, Pelley stated that he had a "players first mentality," among other ideas.

In his farewell video, Keith Pelley did not overlook the fact that negotiations with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia have not been finalized. Pelly stated that he had hoped to say goodbye with this issue resolved.

This was part of what Keith Pelley said (via Flushing It):

"We definitely have a players first mentality, and so we should... There is no doubt that our industry is going through a transformational time. And you all know that I had hoped that we would have unified the game before I left for my homeland. We know that’s not going to happen now. But I can tell you, we have made major strides over the last couple of months and I remain optimistic that we will get there and the game will be in a better position once we have."

Keith Pelley also recalled what, for him, were milestones in his eight-and-a-half-year tenure as CEO of the European Tour. Among these milestones, he cited the good management of the pandemic, the two editions of the Ryder Cup won by the European team, as well as the sponsorship agreement with DP World and the strategic agreement with the PGA Tour.

Keith Pelley announced his resignation on January 10 to accept the position of CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The company owns the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and Toronto FC in the Major League Soccer (MLS).

The position of CEO of the DP World Tour will be filled by Guy Kinnings, who served as Deputy Chief until now.

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Keith Pelley's journey to the DP World Tour

Professionally, Keith Pelly comes from a media background. His professional career began in the 1980s as an assistant editor at The Sports Network (TSN) while still a student in the Radio and Television Arts Program (RTA) at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University).

After graduating, Pelley continued to progress within TSN, eventually becoming the company's president.

His experience at the helm of sports structures began in the early 2000s when he took over as CEO of the Canadian Football League. He returned to the media business after that, although always with a strong sports focus. From 2007 to 2010, he was the president of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.

Pelley then took over as president of Rogers Media where he had several business successes. He remained in this position until 2015 before taking over as CEO of the European Tour (now DP World Tour).