The PGA Tour is increasing its participant fairness program to reward present efficiency, including the highest 50 gamers on this yr’s FedEx Cup to the record of gamers who often obtain grants from the first-of-its-kind program, which has greater than 200 gamers with fairness exceeding $1 billion.
PGA Tour Enterprises CEO Brian Rolup defined the enlargement in a memo to gamers Thursday afternoon, one week earlier than the sluggish begin of the 2026 season. The AP seen the memo, which included an replace on the progress of a brand new scheduling mannequin by a committee chaired by Tiger Woods.
Rolup’s transfer into the highest 50 on the FedExCup was the results of a participant assembly on the Rocket Basic, one week after he grew to become CEO of the for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises. It was mentioned on the November board assembly earlier than being authorised.
This can roughly double the variety of gamers receiving common grants this yr.
“By increasing our participant fairness program, we reaffirm our dedication to recognizing aggressive efficiency and guaranteeing extra members have the chance to share within the long-term success of the PGA Tour,” Lollup stated within the memo.
The tour introduced the fairness program almost two years in the past with an preliminary dedication of $1.5 billion, with the potential for doubling the funding, with Strategic Sports activities Group, a consortium of North American sports activities house owners led by Fenway Sports activities Group, as a personal investor.
In this system’s preliminary section, 36 gamers have been awarded $750 million in fairness grants primarily based on their participant impression program, which measures profession efficiency, previous 5 years and star energy. $75 million for 64 gamers, primarily based on the final three years. $30 million to 57 PGA Tour member gamers. and $75 million to 36 previous gamers who helped construct the tour.
This system will present a further $600 million in common fairness grants to future PGA Tour gamers, with $100 million to be awarded yearly beginning in 2025.
These 2025 grants will probably be awarded in April, however the prime 50 finishers on this yr’s FedEx Cup (that record will probably be finalized after the BMW Championship) will obtain their grants in April 2027.
The preliminary $930 million for 193 gamers will probably be 50% vested after 4 years, 75% vested after six years, and totally vested after eight years. Annual common shares are 100% cliff vesting after 6 years.
The grants awarded to twenty or extra gamers in 2025 have been decided primarily based on profession factors from the earlier three years, profession factors earned final season and the Participant Influence Program. The newest PIP outcomes haven’t been printed.
This implies greater than 213 PGA Tour members will share roughly $1.3 billion in fairness grants.
“Because the sports activities business continues to evolve and entice important funding, possession on the PGA Tour is turning into an more and more essential a part of the dialog,” Rolup wrote.
“The PGA Tour’s participant possession mannequin stands out as a revolutionary strategy, providing you the chance to profit from the expansion and success of the PGA Tour in ways in which transcend weekly pockets returns. In different phrases, when the PGA Tour improves, so do you.”
He didn’t go into particular particulars in regards to the future evaluation schedule being thought of by the Competitors Fee. Matters into account embody the potential for what he described as a “symbolic begin” to the season, exploring extra main markets (the tour is just not often in New York, Chicago or Boston), and strengthening the meritocratic construction.
Mr Rolup stated progress was exploratory with no choices reached but.
He additionally sought to allay considerations about shortage, certainly one of his key pillars, which has been interpreted to imply fewer tournaments.
“After we speak about shortage, the purpose is to make each occasion extra essential to followers, gamers, and companions, to not dramatically scale back whole variety of occasions, alternatives, or entry,” Rolup wrote. “The committee remains to be contemplating all choices and our precedence is to develop a schedule that maximizes engagement and worth for all concerned.”
