Changes are coming to the PGA Tour, but precisely when and what those changes will look like are still to be determined.
The tour’s leadership continues to discuss scenarios that would reshape what is now the fall portion of the wraparound schedule, creating a three-event series of international tournaments that would be open to the top players on the PGA Tour, offering no-cut events with huge purses, effectively guaranteeing big payouts to participating players.
Some form of the three-event scenario is likely to happen but no earlier than the fall of 2023. Additionally, other changes are being contemplated to the schedule after the end of the FedEx Cup playoffs in late August.
The potential changes come as the PGA Tour is being challenged by the new LIV Golf Invitational Series, which has promised limited fields with massive purses. To this point, the LIV Golf initiative has not announced any players who will compete in its eight-event series, which begins next month near London.
Under consideration is a plan that would significantly reduce the number of fall events, providing players more of an off-season should they want it. Some tournaments currently played in the fall could become opposite-field events when tournaments such as the Genesis Invitational, the Memorial Tournament and the Arnold Palmer Invitational – which have 120-player fields compared with the typical 144- or 156-man entry lists of most events – are played.
The fields for those special events might be reduced while providing playing opportunities in the opposite-field tournaments, another potential gesture toward the top players, who would play in bigger-money tournaments against smaller fields.
Additionally, the PGA Tour is working with two companies in finalizing agreements that would allow players to profit from NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, which are essentially digital files that can be sold. The tour controls all licensing opportunities, and players, including Phil Mickelson, have been outspoken about having more control over their name, image and likeness.
According to Golf.com, the PGA Tour is finalizing deals with Autograph and Sorare to handle the NFT business. Autograph was co-founded by quarterback Tom Brady and includes Tiger Woods on its board of advisers. Sorare is a French company which has previously focused on European professional soccer.
Players would be paid a lump sum based on their FedEx Cup finish while also being paid based on the popularity of their NFTs.
Ron Green Jr.