CROMWELL, Conn. — The Travelers Championship, with a date many people would think is one of the worst on the PGA Tour calendar — the week after the US Open — is a success story that Commissioner Jay Monahan loves to talk about . He knows the tournament well, having graduated from Trinity College, which is just 11 miles from TPC River Highlands in Hartford. But on a wet Wednesday afternoon, Monahan was at the media center to talk about something else: the threat the LIV Golf Series poses to the PGA Tour and what the Tour plans for the future.
As it turns out, Monahan spoke for just over 40 minutes and outlined a new structure that the PGA Tour plans to implement soon.
Here are five key takeaways from his press conference:
Table of Contents
The FedEx Cup playoff season is being revamped for 2023
At the end of this season, which concludes with the Tour Championship finals on August 28, players ranked 125th and higher on the FedEx Cup scoreboard will qualify to play in the first tournament of the FedEx Cup Playoffs (the FedEx St. Jude Championship) and receive full exemptions from the PGA Tour for next season. But on Wednesday, Monahan announced the number would drop to 70 by 2023.
There will still be three FedEx Cup playoff events, but the top 50 in the points standings will advance to round two in 2023, and the top 30 will advance to the Tour Championship after round two.
Golfers who don’t qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs must earn their exceptions for next season by competing in a series of events throughout the fall.
The calendar-based season returns
Beginning in fall 2013, the PGA Tour adopted a wrap-around schedule that ended in late summer 2014, but Monahan announced Wednesday that the tour intends to return to a calendar-based season in 2024. That means the 2024 PGA Tour season will start in January and end in late August, making it more condensed.
The advantage of this system, especially for top players, is that golfers can enjoy the off-season and not worry about getting back into action with a low FedEx Cup point position.
“Self-interested, I would wish for an off-season for me,” Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday. “I’d like to not show up in February and be 150th on the FedEx Cup points list because I just didn’t want to play in the fall and wanted to take some time off and spend some time with my family.”
Beginning in 2023, golfers who make it to the second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs will also qualify for a new series of up to three international events taking place in the fall. These events are expected to take place in Asia, Europe and the Middle East and will each have approximately $20 million in prize money.
Massive prize money increases at eight events
Significantly more prize pools will be available to players starting next season at some of the highest profile events on the PGA Tour, including the Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and the Memorial Tournament. These events will range from $12 million to $20 million in total prize money. The Sentry Tournament of Champions will increase from $8.2 million to $15 million, the Players Championship will have $25 million in prize money, and the FedEx St. Jude Invitational and BMW Championship will go to $20 million US dollar rise.
“One of the things we’ve heard from our sponsors over the past few months has been, ‘Please tell us what we can do to help,'” Monahan said. “So the changes we’re making, which will total approximately $45 million, come from a combination of sponsorship contributions, opportunities to continue selling more within those events themselves, and our reserves.”
No free lunch on the PGA Tour
The LIV Golf Series requires players to attend its events and then pays them more based on their performance and the performance of the team they play for that week. However, PGA Tour players make their money based on how they finish in this week’s tournament.
There have been rumors in recent weeks that golfers who make it onto the PGA Tour should be paid a fixed amount at the start of the season to pay for things like travel and coaching. When asked about the topic, Monahan didn’t say it was off the table, but didn’t say it was coming soon either.
“The foundation of this Tour, the meritocracy of playing on the PGA Tour, how hard it is to get out of here, how hard it is to reach the highest level of the game, that’s ultimately going to be the attribute,” Monahan said. “That will ultimately be the element that will continue to make this tour the greatest tour on earth.”
There is no turning back for players who join the LIV series
On June 9, Monahan sent a letter to all PGA Tour members announcing that he had suspended the 17 members who attended the LIV Series event in London, including Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Sergio García. That made them ineligible to compete in PGA Tour sanctioned events.
As he spoke, LIV Golf took to social media to announce Brooks Koepka has joined the organization, confirming speculation and reports circulating on Tuesday.
“I set out our position on June 9th on the players who signed up for this first event, virtually all of whom have made long-term commitments to play in this series,” Monahan said when asked if he see a way for LIV Golf participants to return to the PGA Tour. “So one event has been played, more will follow and I think our position there is very well established as it relates to all players who will be playing future events.”
In short, golfers who leave the PGA Tour and play LIV Series events have no going back.
