ATLANTA — The PGA Tours top players have committed to competing in at least 20 events beginning next season, with 12 elevated tournaments with average purses of $20,000,000, Jay Monahan, commissioner, announced Wednesday.
Following a players-only meeting, the players have now committed to each other. Tiger Woods Rory McIlroyLast week, the BMW Championship was hosted in an effort to rally top players from the PGA Tour in its ongoing battle against the LIV Golf circuit.
McIlroy stated that Weve all made an agreement to get together more often in order to make the product more compelling. I don’t have a crystal ball but I believe everyone in the room believed this was the best way forward.
I believe that if you want to sell a product to TV and sponsors, and to get as many eyes on professional golf, you have to at least let people know what youre doing. When I tune in to a Tampa Bay BuccaneersI expect to see the game Tom BradyThrow a football. I expect to see a Formula 1 race when I tune in. Lewis HamiltonIn a car. Sometimes, the PGA Tour has been a place where we all act independently and have our own schedules. This means that we rarely get together very often.
The PGA Tour announced Wednesday that four new elevated events will be added with $20 million purses. This brings the total number of elevated tournaments to 12.
Top players will be eligible to compete in four new elevated events. The season will also see three additional PGA Tour tournaments that golfers can commit to.
Monahan stated that our top players are firmly behind Tour, helping us deliver an unparalleled product to our fans who will almost certainly see the best players competing against one another in 20 events or greater throughout the season, Monahan stated during a news conference before the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.
The PGA Tour is also increasing its Player Impact Program by doubling it from $50 million in 2022 to $100 million 2023. It will reward the 20 top players, an increase from 10 based upon measurement criteria and data. This will be to reward players who resonate with our growing fan base. Monahan stated that the top PIP finisher would receive $15 million.
The PIP criteria will remove certain criteria from social media and expand awareness criteria such as internet searches, general awareness, awareness of golf fans, media mentions, and broadcast exposure.
The PGA Tour has also launched an Earnings Assurance Programme for fully exempt members. It guarantees a league-minimum wage of $500,000 per participant. The money will be distributed to players who participate in 15 events. The money will be distributed to rookies and returning players at the beginning of the season.
Non-exempt members will be awarded $5,000 for every missed cut if they were ranked between 126th & 150th in FedEx Cup points standings. They will also receive a subsidy for travel and other tournament-related expenses.
LIV Golf officials responded in a statement to the PGA Tours changes, saying that LIV Golf is the best thing to ever happen to support the careers of professional golfers.
The PGA Tour had previously stated that it was raising the purses for several of the top events including the Sentry Tournament of Champions (£15 million), Genesis Invitational ($20 million), Arnold Palmer Invitational ($20 million), and the Players(25 million), Memorial Tournament (20 million), WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play ($20million), and the FedEx Cup playoff events: FedEx St. Jude Championship (20 million), BMW Championship (20 million) & Tour Championship (75 million).