The PGA TOUR announced today that they will host an extended slate of elevated events for the top players on the TOUR in an attempt to counter the growth of the competing LIV Golf Tour.
Starting next season, top players will commit to a 20-tournament schedule, as opposed to the usual 15-tournament minimum for TOUR golfers.
The 2022-23 schedule will include 12 elevated events similar to the FedExCup playoffs, and commissioner Jay Monahan said that the top players have committed to playing all 12 events in addition to the four major tournaments.
The purses for the majority of these events will be $20 million. The PGA TOUR will use their new Player Impact Program rankings to determine who will be qualified as a “top player,” and they expanded the PIP bonus pool from $50 million to $100 million.
For the 2022-23 season, a “top player” will be defined as players who finish in the top 20 under the current Player Impact Program AND players who finish in the top 20 under the revised PIP criteria
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 24, 2022
Details on the expansion of the PIP and changes made to the criteria: pic.twitter.com/FY6lgr2JdN
This agreement appears to be a result of last week’s meeting between Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and other influential golfers who remained on the PGA TOUR while their peers took Saudi-based LIV’s lucrative offers.
The TOUR is also implementing a travel-stipend program for non-exempt players, and the top 125 players in the PGA TOUR’s priority ranking are guaranteed $500,000 per year.