A shake-up of the PGA golf Tour will see eight of its leading events outside of the majors have smaller, limited fields and no longer feature 36-hole cuts.
Tour Championship flag
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Known as designated events, these have bigger purses as the PGA Tour aims to stop players defecting to LIV Golf.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan says the revamp will “deliver substantial, can’t-miss tournaments for the fans”.
Rory McIlroy said he “loves” the move, but it has drawn derision from the breakaway LIV series and its players.
Financially backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to tune of $3 billion, the LIV series features 48-player fields split into 12 teams and has no cuts.
“Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Congratulations PGA Tour. Welcome to the future,” LIV tweeted.
The four majors – the Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship – and the Players Championship will remain with a full field of up to 156 players and have cuts at the halfway stage after two rounds.
The PGA Tour had already introduced 12 designated events for the 2023 season, worth an average of $30 million and aimed to keep their biggest stars happy.
But more radical changes – to be implemented from 2024 – have been announced.
While the full details of the designated events has yet to be worked through – and which eight will fall into this category – the PGA Tour confirmed they will have between 70 and 78 players.
The field will include the top 50 players from the previous year’s FedEx Cup standings and the top 10 players from the latest points list.
Five players will also be able to qualify through non-designated events.
The top players will not have to compete in a mandatory number of tournaments, with the PGA Tour aiming to provide more flexibility.
The arrival of the LIV series has changed the landscape of professional golf and led to what many have described as a ‘civil war’ in the sport.
Last year, the PGA Tour banned its members who played in a LIV competition with the DP World Tour – formerly known as the European Tour – following suit.
Thirteen LIV players appealed against the punishments imposed by the DP World Tour in a week-long hearing at the start of last month, with English Ryder Cup veterans Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood among them.
New Zealand’s Danny Lee moved from the PGA Tour to LIV last month.
-BBC
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.