Whether the PGA Tour admits it or not, the pressure put on by LIV Golf has impacted some player-friendly changes.
Last week, several players met with the PGA Tour with Tiger Woods voice being the most impactful.
The following changers were announced:
• Top players will commit to at least a 20-event PGA Tour schedule. That schedule will include the current eight elevated events, plus four additional ones that have yet to be announced, but will carry purses of at least $20 million.
• Expansion of the Player Impact Program. PIP will now award $100 million to 20 players, up from $50 million to 10 players.
• Guaranteed league minimum of $500,000 per player (Korn Ferry Tour category and above).
The 20 event commitment is the change that will impact the fans the most. It will ensure that the bigger name golfers will participate in more tournaments. To give you an example, Rory McIlroy will be playing his 16th this weekend.
The rest of the changes are moves to compete with LIV Golf without completely compromising what the Tour has stood for.
With that being said, it can’t be argued that these are LIV Golf forced changes and it is why having a competing Tour was going to be a positive for both the players that stayed and the ones that left.
