“A constructive meeting.” That’s how Jay Monahan, commissioner of the PGA Tour, described the gathering that took place in Florida with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. “During the meeting,” Monahan emphasized, “Yasir Al-Rumayyan had the opportunity to address our player advisory council and share his vision, as well as his priorities, regarding investments in professional golf.”
Pga Tour, news
In June 2023, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and PIF announced a framework agreement that has yet to be formalized. Expired on December 31st, it was then extended while awaiting a definitive resolution to create a “global tour” without distinctions and divisions.
The PGA Tour manages three tours, primarily played in the United States, with occasional events in Canada and Mexico:
PGA Tour: The premier tour.
Champions Tour: For players aged 50 and above.
Korn Ferry Tour (formerly Nationwide Tour): A developmental tour.
The PGA Tour also organizes an annual qualifying tournament (commonly known as Q-School), held each fall over six rounds. The top twenty-five finishers earn the right to play on the PGA Tour the following year. The remaining players, if ranked between seventy-sixth and one hundred twenty-fifth, may instead participate in the Korn Ferry Tour.
The top twenty-five earners on the Korn Ferry Tour also earn the right to compete on the PGA Tour the following year. A player who wins three tournaments on the tour in a year receives a “battlefield promotion,” guaranteeing them PGA Tour participation for the remainder of the year. At the end of each season, the top one hundred twenty-five players in earnings receive a “tour card” for the following year, exempting them from qualifying for most tournaments. However, for certain invitationals, the exemption applies only to the top seventy from the previous year’s rankings. Players ranked from 126th to 150th receive a conditional tour card, giving them priority to replace players who decide not to participate in certain tournaments.
Winning a PGA Tour event earns a player a tour card valid for a minimum of two years, with an additional year added for each subsequent victory, up to a maximum of five years. Winning one of the three World Golf Championships events or The Tour Championship guarantees exemption from qualifying for three years. Winners of the four major championships or The Players Championship gain guaranteed tour participation for five years. Players who win twenty tour events qualify for lifetime status. Special provisions exist for players ranked in the top fifty or twenty-five without other exemption reasons or for players returning from injury.
Like other professional sports organizations, there are no rules limiting tour participation to men only. In 2003, Annika Sörenstam and Suzy Whaley played in PGA Tour events, and Michelle Wie did so consecutively from 2004 to 2008. None of them, however, ever made the cut, although Wie missed it by just one stroke in 2004. The LPGA, on the other hand, is an organization exclusively for women.
The PGA Tour places a strong emphasis on fundraising for charity, often in support of local organizations in the cities where tournaments are held. With the exception of some long-standing events, PGA Tour rules mandate that all tournaments be organized as nonprofit endeavors; the PGA Tour itself is a nonprofit organization.
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