Golfweek reports that the PGA Tour will announce four additional tournaments with elevated status in 2023. These new events will make the total number of Tour events “elevated” to 13. This means that the game’s most famous players will be present as they compete for lucrative purses in excess of $20 million. Players will be informed about details of the events by the Tour later in this week.
Jay Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner, announced the first nine elevated events of the 2022-2023 season. These were the Players Championship, three FedEx Cup playoff stops: BMW Championship, Tour Championship, FedEx St. Jude Championship; the three invitationals (Genesis and Arnold Palmer; the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play; the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
According to five sources, four more tournaments will be added to this season: the WM Phoenix Open and the RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship, and the Travelers Championship. Multiple sources claim that the Tour is still working with the events to finalize negotiations. The spokesperson for the PGA Tour declined comment to confirm details or comment on possible announcements.
The nine events previously announced will be elevated in status each year. However, it is expected that the four tournaments unveiled this week will rotate among seasons, so that any sponsor who wishes to pay for an elevated status will be guaranteed the best field possible every few years.
One person briefed on the plan said that “the elevated events won’t be the same” in 2024. These events were able to work with a schedule that was already announced.
LIV Golf, a Saudi-funded series that attracted a lot of well-known players to compete in guaranteed money 48-man events, is the direct reason the PGA Tour created an elite tier. Monahan presented the Tour’s strategy at the August season-ending Tour Championship, but the vision was created by a group of select players who met earlier in the month in Delaware, organised by Tour loyalists Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy.
The Tour invited only the top players to attend. Players were generally willing to take part in every event. This gives the Tour the ability guarantee that its biggest draws will be there. This has never been possible before, as members are independent contractors and have their own schedules. Twenty-one of the 21 top players in the Official World Golf Ranking are still on the PGA Tour.
The 13 PGA Tour stops that are considered the best in golf and the four major championships will see the top players compete at least 17 times each season. This is a significant increase from the current number of matches they play in the same tournaments. Monahan’s plan requires players to play in three non-elevated PGA Tour tournaments each season. This will ensure that these tournaments are still able to attract top stars who can meet their obligation.
Stars are concerned about the 20-event minimum commitment. World No. 1 said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this changes.” Jon Rahm (5), who expressed doubts about his ability support events in Europe.
Given that two of the tournaments are immediately after majors, grumbling is likely to increase about the announcement of these four new-elevated tournaments. Although the Masters is right after the RBC Heritage, it’s only a three-hour drive from Augusta to Hilton Head. The Travelers Championship is held in Cromwell (Connecticut) the week after the U.S. Open. It will be held at Los Angeles Country Club next year.
In 2023, the schedule of high-level events would see the top players meet with great frequency, outside of majors. It would be twice in January (Sentry), twice each in February (WM Phoenix Open and Genesis), three times per month (Arnold Palmer and Players, Match Play), once each in April (RBC Heritage and May (Wells Fargo), twice each in June (Memorial and Travelers), and three times during August for the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Sources said that no decisions have been made about which events will be elevated on the PGA Tour’s schedule in 2024 when the Tour returns back to a regular calendar year season or whether the field sizes may be adjusted for those tournaments.
By: Eamon Lynch
Title: Exclusive: PGA Tour to announce four new 'elevated' events, including WM Phoenix Open
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2022/10/18/pga-tour-four-new-elevated-events-wm-phoenix-open/
Published Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:30:52 +0000
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