The US PGA Tour announced Wednesday that prizes for the 2019 Phoenix Open, Heritage event, Wells Fargo Championship, and Travelers Championship will be increased to $20 million, and top golfers will be assured to participate.
During the Tour Championship in August, tour commissioner Jay Monahan announced the completion of a PGA makeover to compete with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.
PGA stars such as four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, top-ranked Jon Rahm, and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler have committed to participating in 17 tournaments with increased purses in 2019 as an attempt to combat more players leaving for the upstart LIV Series.
The rival circuit’s record $25 million purses and guaranteed contracts for 54-hole events have attracted top talent away from the PGA, including British Open winner and world number three Cameron Smith of Australia, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, two-time major winner Dustin Johnson, and past Masters champions Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, and Patrick Reed.
In addition to the four new events, the purses and player commitments have increased for the four major championships, the Players Championship, the three FedEx Cup play-off events, the Tournament of Champions, WGC Match Play, Memorial tournament, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational.
Players finishing in the top 20 of this year’s Player Impact Program, a measure of player popularity that awards bonus money to well-known talent, are expected to play in all events they qualify for and three more events, ensuring that PGA stars make at least 20 appearances annually.
In August, Monahan declared, “This is an incredible and unprecedented devotion, a monument to who these people are and what they believe in.”
The four elevated events for 2023 are only for next year, with other tournaments perhaps replacing them in subsequent years if the PGA desires that its top players compete in a wider variety of tournaments during other seasons.
The Phoenix Open, Wells Fargo Championship, Travelers Championship, and Heritage will keep their regular positions and eligibility requirements on the tour schedule, allowing for more than 120 participants at each event.
The Phoenix Open is held in February, followed by the Heritage a week after the Masters in April, the Wells Fargo in Charlotte three weeks later, and the Travelers the week after the U.S. Open.
The PGA also implemented a minimum compensation of $500,000 for each player holding a PGA Tour card.