PGA Tour’s Policy Board Director Declares “War-Time Deal” with LIV Golf and Boost in Prize Money for Players
The entire golf community has been abuzz with talk of the competition between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.[0] Attendance of those who joined LIV Golf will not be permitted at the Seminole Pro-Member tournament, an event of great importance to be played the Monday after the Honda Classic, at the renowned Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida next month.[1] According to Golfweek, PGA Tour Policy Board director, Jimmy Dunne, described his appointment to the board as “a war-time deal”, a reference to the ongoing battle with LIV.[2]
LIV Golf has received a lot of hate from the prominent members of the sport and the PGA Tour took the opportunity to seek discovery from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and question Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of PIF.[0] Dunne has been at the helm of Seminole since 2012 and was recently appointed to the PGA Tour Board.[3] He told Golfweek, “PGA Tour players get the first priority. This event has always been supported by the PGA Tour. We try to make this a special and unique day for Tour players.”[4]
The PGA Tour immediately suspended players who had defected to LIV, and some, such as Johnson, chose to resign their Tour membership.[2] A number of big names from the PGA Tour were signed by LIV, among them being Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson of Jupiter, Bryson DeChambeau, and Brooks Koepka also of Jupiter.[5]
A sum of $153 million is being injected into the PGA Tour for prize-money increases and the Player Impact Program.[6] This will come mostly in the form of more lucrative tournament purses in 13 “designated” events, which include the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the WM Phoenix Open, the Players Championship, the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play, the RBC Heritage, the Wells Fargo Championship, the Travelers Championship, three player invitationals and three FedEx Cup playoff events.[6] The purses for these events will range from $15 million to $25 million.[6]
The player who finishes 30th in the FedEx Cup standings in 2023 will earn $7 million, including bonus money.[6] Matt Jones earned $2.15 million in 70th place last year, but the projected salary for that spot has increased to $3.5 million.[6] These are increases of 82 and 62 percent, respectively.[6]
0. “‘It’s Not Playing Centre Field For The Yankees’: High Level PGA Tour Official Publicly Mocks LIV Golf” EssentiallySports, 18 Jan. 2023, https://www.essentiallysports.com/golf-news-pga-tour-liv-golf-its-not-playing-centre-field-for-the-yankees-high-level-pga-tour-official-publicly-mocks-liv-golf/
1. “Report: LIV Golf players not welcome at Seminole Pro-Member” Golf Channel, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.golfchannel.com/news/report-liv-golf-players-not-welcome-seminole-pro-member
2. “Exclusive: LIV Golf players unwelcome at prestigious Seminole Pro-Member event” Yahoo Sports, 26 Jan. 2023, https://sports.yahoo.com/exclusive-liv-golf-players-unwelcome-171153164.html
3. “LIV Golf rebels are NOT invited to this year's Pro-Member at Seminole, PGA Tour stars get priority” Daily Mail, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/golf/article-11680873/LIV-Golf-rebels-NOT-invited-years-Pro-Member-Seminole-PGA-Tour-stars-priority.html
4. “Seminole Pro-Member event officially bans LIV Golf members” Sportskeeda, 26 Jan. 2023, https://www.sportskeeda.com/golf/news-seminole-pro-member-event-officially-bans-liv-golf-members
5. “LIV Golfers not welcomed to prestigious Pro-Member tournament in Florida” Palm Beach Post, 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/2023/01/27/liv-golfers-not-welcomed-to-prestigious-pro-member-tournament-in-florida/69845850007/
6. “The $153 million question: Breaking down the PGA Tour’s response to LIV” GolfDigest.com, 18 Jan. 2023, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/breaking-down-pga-tour-response-liv-golf-153-million-dollar-question