The PGA Tour has announced a list of incentives and enhanced prize purses, which will now be US$ 20m for a bunch of new events apart from the ones that have already been put in the elevated category.
The enhanced purses apart, the PGA Tour’s Commissioner, Jay Monahan, also announced an enhanced Player Impact Programme (PIP) with a payout of US$ 100m as against the older amount of US$ 50 million to be distributed among the Top 20.
In addition the big commitment from the top stars, who have agreed to play in 12 elevated events (eight previously announced, the four Majors and three added events of their choice. This would bring in great value for the players, broadcast partners and the fans.
“Our top players are firmly behind the TOUR, helping us deliver an unmatched product to our fans, who will be all but guaranteed to see the best players competing against each other in 20 events or more throughout the season,” said Monahan.
Monahan’s announcements which came on the heels of the ‘Players Only’ meeting indicated that PGA Tour is going all out in its battle with the Liv Series.
The total of elevated events is now 12 and the top players, which means players in the top 20 of the PIP, have committed to play in all 12 events as well as all four major championships, The Players Championship and three added events of their choosing.
The venue and names of the four new ‘Elevated Events’, the purse of which will be US$ 20 million each, will be announced soon.
Meeting the media ahead of the Tour Championship, the final stop of the season for the PGA Tour, Monahan listed four key items – 12 Elevated Events in 2023; a commitment from the top players to play 20 events, an expansion of the Player Impact Program and guaranteed minimum earnings.
The current Elevated Events are the Sentry Tournament of Champions (with new additions to the criteria that guarantee a place for all those qualifying for the Tour Championships), The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and the three FedExCup Play-offs events. Now there will be four more.
For the lower ranked players there will be an Earnings Assurance Program with a guarantee of a minimum $500,000 per player. The player, however, must play in at least 15 events.
In addition, a travel stipend program also will be implemented for non-exempt members (players in the 126-150 category and below). Those players will receive $5,000 for travel and tournament-related expenses when they miss the cut. The stipends will not impact tournament purses. These enhancements will be an added safety net at the lower levels and for players coming up from the Korn Ferry Tour.
The PGA Tour will go back to the January – August schedule from 2024.
