Top golfers pledge to play more PGA Tour events in 2023 – NBC10 Philadelphia

Top golfers commit to more PGA Tour events in 2023 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The PGA Tour plans to give away more money at more tournaments in 2023.

The top players, as determined by the Player Impact Program, will commit to play in at least 20 competitions in the following year. These events include 12 tournaments with increased purses, averaging $20 million, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monaghan announced on Wednesday.

“Every member of the PGA Tour will benefit from the changes we will be making,” Monahan said Wednesday before Championship Tour. “The Tour will continue to grow by attracting the best players in the world, and we will continue to build on and invest in our ethos of being the ultimate competitive platform.”

Rory McIlroywho held a players-only meeting with Tiger Woods last week at the BMW Championship, is one of the most vocal proponents of the PGA’s future.

“When I tune in to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, I expect to see Tom Brady throw the ball. When I tune into a Formula 1 race, I expect to see Lewis Hamilton in the car,” said McIlroy. “Sometimes what happens on the PGA Tour is that we all operate independently and have our own schedules, and that means we never get together as often. I think the result of last week’s meeting and what Jay just announced is that we all made a commitment to get together more often to make the product more compelling.”

The Sentry Tournament of Champions, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, the WGC Match Play and the three FedEx Cup playoff tournaments are already considered “elevated events.” Four new ones will be announced later.

In addition, the PGA announced an expanded Player Impact Program that will guarantee at least $500,000 a year to all members of the tour, fully tax-exempt. The program is also doubling down to award $100 million to the 20 players who stand out the most to the media and fans.

As the tour will continue to attract new fans by competing against another league in LIV Gold, the PGA believes Wednesday’s changes are “unprecedented”.

“Today is the culmination of a stronger partnership between the tour and the players, and between the players themselves,” Monahan said. “This is unprecedented for our TOUR and a testament to who these guys are and what they believe in.”