PGA Tour steps up response to rival LIV Golf league with proposed schedule changes, purse increases: reports
LIV Golf has drawn in several top-ranked players with its notable signing bonuses and prize winnings
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The PGA Tour has stepped up its response to the rival Saudi-backed golf league this week, proposing an eight-event series worth at least $160 million in total prize earnings, according to multiple reports.
Commissioner Jay Monahan met with players on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Travelers Championship to discuss changes to the tour schedule that will include "eight limited-field no-cut events, with purses of $20 million or more each, for the top 50 finishers in the prior season’s FedEx Cup standings," Gold Digest reported, citing several players present at the meeting.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan speaks to the media during a press conference prior to The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 8, 2022 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Sources told ESPN that while nothing official has been put into place, the changes are expected to be approved for the 2023 season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}BROOKS KOEPKA THE LATEST PGA TOUR MEMBER TO JOIN LIV GOLF: REPORTS
The increase in prize earnings will impact several existing tournaments and will be paid for by sponsors or the tour’s reserves, according to ESPN.
Two players also told the Associated Press that the topic of returning to a calendar season and changing the FedEx Cup playoff eligibility from the top 125 players to the top 70 was also discussed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}PGA TOUR logo is seen during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2021 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
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The news followed reports that eight-time PGA Tour winner Brooks Koepka was the latest player to join LIV Golf. He remained in the field for the Travelers Championship, though he was not at a player meeting Tuesday morning at the TPC River Highlands.
Brooks Koepka of The United States waits to play his second shot on the third hole during the second round of the 2022 U.S.Open Championship at The Country Club on June 17, 2022 in Brookline, Massachusetts. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Koepka is expected to join his brother, Chase Koepka, at the Pumpkin Ridge Gold Club for the first LIV Golf Invitational Portland beginning next Friday.
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LIV Golf, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has slowly drawn in some of the PGA Tour’s top-ranked players with its notable signing bonuses and purses.
Charl Schwartzel of Stinger GC celebrates with the LIV Golf Invitational Individual trophy alongside teammates Hennie du Plessis (L) and Branden Grace (R) who hold their runner's up trophies during day three of LIV Golf Invitational - London at The Centurion Club on June 11, 2022 in St Albans, England. (Charlie Crowhurst/LIV Golf/Getty Images)
Two-time PGA Tour winner Charl Schwartzel became the first-ever LIV Golf Invitational champion last week and took home a whopping $4.75 million, making it the richest tournament in golf history.