PGA Tour unveils news: Thank Norman, thank the LIV, say the fans!

Wednesday’s day at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta was a day of final preparations before Thursday’s start of the Tour Championship, but also a much-anticipated press conference where PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan outlined the immediate future of the Tour. The American circuit decided to make changes after their newly formed rival organisation, LIV Golf, started to pull players over.

It was clear that something had to happen, but for a long time it wasn’t entirely clear what. If you were expecting PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to sit down at the same table as Greg Norman (CEO of LIV Golf), nothing like that has happened and probably won’t happen in the foreseeable future.

Instead, the PGA Tour has decided to upgrade its business, increase player earnings and stop the flight of the best players to the competition. Arguably, the most important thing happened over the last week, when 23 of the Tour’s best players gathered at the BMW Championship.

One of the key steps to achieve a better market position will be the PIP (Player Impact Program) initiative which was launched last year and until now has been ranking the top 10 players on the circuit. From next season onwards, this number is set to increase to 20 players, but beyond the results criteria, the ranking will also combine the popularity of players among the audience.

Monahan added that more specific criteria will be released later, although he has already revealed some. They will include Internet searches, general awareness, golf fan awareness, media mentions and exposure on the broadcast.

Last year a $40 million bonus was distributed to this group of players, this year it was $50 million and is expected to rise to $100 million in 2023.

These twenty players will be invited to a series of the most prestigious tournaments with the highest endowments, of which there are expected to be twelve. Eight of those events have been announced – three FedEx Cup tournaments, the Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial, the WGC-Dell Match Play and the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The other four events will be announced at a later date.

According to the PGA commissioner, a complete calendar of these tournaments could be ready in 45 to 60 days. The top 20 players mentioned above will be required to play in at least 20 tournaments. Previously, the Tour required players to participate in at least 15 events per season.

The changes will also affect lower-ranked players, although it’s clear that they’re not as much of an issue here. In any case, they should also be guaranteed at least a minimum of $500,000 in earnings, as some kind of deposit that will be deducted in case of further tournament earnings.

The public reacts to these changes in different ways, because in a way it is a copy of the LIV tournament strategy, where the best players earn more money. A strategy that PGA Tour officials have criticized many times.

In particular, the fans have been largely proclaiming the slogan: ” Thank Greg Norman, thank the LIV Tour.” If it weren’t for the invasion of competition into the world golf market, the PGA Tour would not be making any major changes. Likewise, many fans and critics alike are asking, ” Why couldn’t it have gone before?”

The LIV organization itself soon responded to the changes produced by the PGA: “LIV Golf is clearly the best thing that has ever happened to help the careers of professional golfers,” they said in their official statement.

The moment when a reporter asked Monahan the question, ” Why didn’t the Tour start implementing these benefits a long time ago?” To which the PGA boss curtly replied, ” Don’t worry about it.”

But time will tell if the changes set to take place on the PGA Tour will be enough. It’s already clear that seven more players who are among the world’s top players will break away from the PGA after the FedEx Cup playoffs and the subsequent President’s Cup.

Source: PGA Tour, Yahoo Sports