The PGA Tour is tabling its plans to stage a global series of three events that would have included its top players competing for purses worth as much as $25 million, sources confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.
The PGA Tour announced Aug. 1 that the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup points standings, as well as top performers from an undetermined number of fall events, would compete in three international tournaments that would include limited fields and no cuts. At that time, the tour did not announce dates and locations for the global events.
A person familiar with the tour’s plans told ESPN that the tour would instead focus its efforts on 13 tournaments with elevated purses for top players, which will include the three FedEx Cup playoff events, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players, Memorial Tournament, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and four additional events that will rotate through existing PGA Tour tournaments.
Commissioner Jay Monahan announced last Wednesday that the PGA Tour’s top players had committed to compete in 20 events, including the 13 elevated events with average purses of $20 million, starting in 2023.
Players will also compete in the four major championships, if they’re eligible, and three other tour events of their choice to complete the 20-event schedule.
Monahan had originally announced plans for the international series during a news conference at the Travelers Championship on June 22. The source said the global series might be staged at some point in the future, likely taking place as limited-field, no-cut, non-points events.
By adding the four new elevated events, according to the source, going forward with the international series would have been too taxing for players who want more time off in the fall after the FedEx Cup season ends in August.
The tour plans to move back to a streamlined schedule, from January to August in 2024, instead of the wraparound schedule it has used the past few seasons. Following the FedEx Cup playoffs in August 2023, a yet-to-be-determined number of official tour events will be played in the fall.
While all players with status will be eligible to play in those tournaments, those outside the top 70 will compete for FedEx Cup points and status for the 2024 season. The top 70 players who qualify for the first FedEx Cup playoff event will be fully exempt for the next season.
At least one PGA Tour member, Spain’s Jon Rahm, expressed concerns about the 20-event requirement for players to be eligible for the $100 million Player Impact Program bonuses. Rahm is also a member of the DP World Tour and has to play four events in Europe to be eligible for the European Ryder Cup team.
“If we have to play all those 20, then yeah, 100% [it’s asking more of the European guys],” Rahm said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes, because that puts me in a difficult position. If I go play in Europe in the fall, I have to play from January until August 20 times. I think this is my 17th [tournament] from January [this year] and I don’t think I could add any more.
“So yeah, especially with Ryder Cup and having to play four in Europe, yeah, I think it’s a bit of an ask, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they revise a bit of a rule or make an exception for some players. But if they do it for players like me and Rory [McIlroy], they might have to do it for everybody.”