The PGA Tour has responded – a number of times and in a variety of ways – to the emerging LIV Golf tournament. Their latest counter to LIV that takes away some stars and big winners multiple times is a reported plan to add a massive drop to the annual calendar with approximately $20 million individual wallets. la to win among the top 50 players from last season.
According to Golfweek, the PGA Tour will likely include current scheduled events with three tournaments that will raise $60 million in the fall. They will feature 50 golfers who have qualified for the BMW Championship, the second of three FedEx Cup Playoff tournaments, and are spread across Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Another proposed change would be that only 70 golfers (down from 125) qualify for the first FedEx Cup Playoff event, the St. Jude. Only those 70 will be guaranteed a PGA Tour pass for the next season, which will return to being held for a calendar year starting January 2024.
Additionally, the purses of eight different events have been increased, many of which have nearly doubled, with the largest individual purse in golf now with The Players Championship, which has increased from $20 million to 25 million dollars.
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The addition of the three events will effectively create tournaments similar to the World Golf Championship events, which were built two decades ago. It will be more difficult to get in as they are limited to last season’s top 50 players, but the effect is the same. It’s a direct cash rebuttal to LIV Golf, which is planning double-digit $25 million tournaments next year ($20 million for individuals, $5 million for tournaments). teams).
What’s fascinating is how much money is being swirled around here. The only event on the PGA Tour currently comparable to this purse size is the Players Championship, which distributes $20 million. The biggest championship wallet right now is the US Open, which just pumped up $17.5 million at Brookline.
The other interesting part of this development is how the player response will be. Part of the allure of LIV Golf is that golfers can play fewer events with more guaranteed money in the form of a contract. It doesn’t matter where Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau end up at LIV Golf events because they both get paid. This move by the PGA Tour will likely see stars play more tournaments than they’ve played with no contractual guarantees at all.
It’s clear that golfers want guaranteed money, as Patrick Cantlay announced Tuesday at the Visitors’ Championship.
“I definitely think that could be beneficial,” Cantlay said. “I think right now there’s a talent contest going on and I think you see it in all other businesses. You’ve seen it in other professional sports from time to time. Part of it. of concern is not knowing what the future holds.It’s an uncertain time for golf right now, but if you think about it in the larger business context it’s a game. So if the PGA Tour wants to continue to be the preeminent tournament for professional golfers, it has to be the best place to play for the best players in the world.”
However, these extra events are probably not even what the top players claim.
“I think there are enough programs that benefit the top players right now, the PIP program, the Comcast Top-10, the FedExCup rewards, all of that is designed to take the lead,” said Rory McIlroy. more money in the pockets of the top players. at the Wells Fargo Championship last month. “You play the best and the ice cream comes out on top at the end of the year. That’s why the Comcast Top-10, FedExCup bonuses are so high. And then you add PIP to it for the people who make a lot of it. money affects the Tour.”
Now, top players may have to add to their schedule to build wealth during the regular season. Part of the reason for this is that the PGA Tour is a 501c(6) organization, which means it is tax-exempt and therefore has to get creative with how it pays its members (i.e. creates a lot of more favorable conditions for the player instead of guaranteeing the contract).
This new three-league tournament in the tournament intro is part of that, and it should at least help take care of the best players in terms of money (especially if they also increase their current five wallets to $20 million). la), which the PGA Tour believes will have the potential to quell the influx of players to LIV Golf.
