The PGA Tour is planning changes to its 2023 schedule that will include eight limited-field, no-cut tournaments with prize pools of at least $20 million for last season’s top-50 FedEx Cup rankings, according to a Golf Digest -Report published on Tuesday.
According to several players polled by Golf Digest after a mandatory players’ meet at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, the venue for this week’s Traveler’s Championship, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan told the gathering that the events will be spread throughout the season – — which will also return to a calendar year format after the 2013 tour transitioned to an all-around FedEx Cup schedule that carried over to next season.
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Monahan is scheduled to hold a press conference in River Highlands at 1 p.m. Wednesday
Golf Digest reported that players outside of the top-50 will still have a number of fall events that give them an opportunity to keep their Tour cards or boost their status for next season. It was unclear how this will affect current fall events such as the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia and tournaments in Houston, Las Vegas, Napa, Calif. and Jackson, Miss.
The eight-event series is similar to LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that started two weeks ago and is funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, except that the tour’s events span 72 holes, while LIV Golf spans 54 holes.
The Associated Press reported additional details of the scheduled events and other changes to the season-long FedEx Cup:
• Only the top 70 players on the scoreboard qualify for the FedEx Playoffs, lowering the current tally of 125.
• The top 50 on the points list after the first event will advance and the top 30 thereafter will qualify for the Tour Championship.
• The fall would be used for players beyond 70th place to secure tickets for the following year, although research showed most would be safe in the top 100.
• The tour was still considering three limited-entry fall events, along with the eight proposed regular-season tournaments.
Nearly two dozen PGA Tour players either competed in the first LIV golf event in London (such as Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel winning the first tournament) or have since announced their intention to play ( Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer and Rickie Fowler, with reports that Brooks Kopeka’s announcement to play LIV Golf is coming any day.
LIV Golf, of which Greg Norman is the CEO, will play eight 54-hole tournaments this year with prize pools totaling $25 million. Schwartzel won more than $4 million, the largest haul in professional golf history.
According to Golf Digest sources, Monahan spoke for 30 minutes and told players the tour was “under attack”. He also urged them to stay united and reminded them of the tour’s longtime corporate partners, many of whom are also linked to players.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.