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56-501: It is one of many Professional Golfers Associations around the world, but has no territorial designation in its name because it was the first in the world to be founded. For many years it was a combined organisation for club professionals and tournament professionals , but when the two branches of the golfing profession diverged due to the increasing financial rewards available to leading tournament golfers, it split in two. A separate Tournament Division with its headquarters at Wentworth Club

112-499: A Professional Golfers Association or an independent tour organisation which is responsible for arranging events, finding sponsors, and regulating the tour. Most of the major tours are player controlled organisations whose commercial objective is to maximise the income of their members by maximising prize money. The larger tours have a tournament almost every week through most of the year. Each tour has "members" who have earned their "tour cards", meaning they are entitled to play in most of

168-514: A higher tour. Some of the players will also play on other tours when they are able to, and others will be club or teaching professionals who play tournament golf part-time. In Europe there is a well-defined third tier of tours which are independently operated but offer promotion to the Challenge Tour for the most successful players. The four third level tours, known as the Satellite Tours, are

224-461: A living from tournament golf can be difficult. Tournaments have entry fees and the associated costs of travel and lodging, plus the hire of a caddie . Moreover, most tournaments have a "cut" after the second of four rounds, meaning that only the top half or so continue play. Only those who make the cut receive any prize money, and only the top players take home significant winnings. The golf tour system evolved more by trial and error than by design. In

280-479: A new, coach-centered education system that meets the needs of coaches and, ultimately, players. The PGA is divided into seven regional sections and a dedicated women's section (the WPGA), each of which has its own headquarters and organises its own tournaments: The PGA also has an international community for members outside Great Britain and Ireland. All students who go through the three-year course and succeed in passing

336-476: A region each year, they were formalised into a "tour", which was supervised by a single organisation, although many tournaments continue to be run by separate bodies. The PGA Tour was the pioneer of the tour system, and its establishment date is not very clearly defined. The PGA of America was established in 1916. Lists of players with the most wins in each season are available from that year, and career win totals are based on results from 1916 onwards. However,

392-570: Is also organized by independent regional tours. Leading female golfers make incomes well over US$ 1 million per year, more than most other women athletes other than top tennis players. There are currently seven first tier regional tours: The LPGA Tour is the dominant tour, and is the main playing base of almost all the world's leading players. It also has tournaments in Canada, Mexico, France, England, Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and other Asian countries. The LPGA of Japan Tour

448-530: Is as follows : In the 1990s the Japan Golf Tour was the third richest tour, but in recent years its number of tournaments has been steadily contracting from a peak of 44 in 1990 to 24 in 2007, and tournament purses have risen only slowly. The (U.S.) LPGA saw a substantial decline in financial rewards in the late 2000s; when its commissioner Carolyn Bivens was forced to resign by a player revolt in 2009, it had only 14 events locked in for 2010. Its 2010 schedule

504-638: Is not a well defined US-based third tier. The larger regional tours include the Swing Thought Tour , Gateway Tour , and the APT Tour there is a constantly changing roster of small "mini-tours". The term mini-tour is colloquial and not easy to define, with the larger regional tours carefully avoiding applying the term to themselves. Some of the smaller and lower cost tours prefer the term "developmental tour" asserting that real pro golf with large audiences and great financial opportunities for its players starts at

560-574: Is open to any registered professional who pays an entry fee. There are enormous differences in the financial rewards offered by the various golf tours, so players on all but the top few tours always aspire to move up if they can. For example, the PGA Tour , which is the first-tier tour in the United States, offers nearly a hundred times as much prize money each season as the third-tier NGA Pro Golf Tour . The hierarchy of tours in financial terms, as of 2024,

616-609: Is organised by the north region of the Professional Golfers' Association . It is the oldest trophy in professional golf that is still played for. The Tooting Bec Cup is older, having been first played for in 1901, but is no longer contested. The Leeds Challenge Cup was first contested in May 1902 at Leeds Golf Club . The trophy was presented by Alderman Penrose-Green, Lord Mayor of Leeds and President of Leeds Golf Club to be competed for annually by professional golfers. Harry Vardon

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672-622: Is the second richest tour, and retains many of its leading players. The best players from the other tours usually move to the LPGA Tour at the earliest opportunity. The second tier women's professional tour in the United States is the Epson Tour (formerly the Futures and then the Symetra). Although there is little opportunity for women's developmental play on the professional level in the United States besides

728-629: The Canadian Tour became an associate member. The South and Central America based Tour de las Américas became the federation's second associate member in 2007. In 2009 the federation announced a major expansion, as the Tour de las Américas and the Canadian Tour became full members alongside nine new members. They were In 2011, the Tour de las Américas was effectively taken over by the PGA Tour, then, after

784-808: The OneAsia Tour , founded in 2009 as a joint venture between the PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association, the Japan Golf Tour, the Korean Golf Association and the Korean PGA, used to offer world ranking points. The richest tour not offering ranking points was until 2011 the Korean Tour . The official development tour in Japan is the Japan Challenge Tour . Other regional tours include

840-817: The PGA EuroPro Tour , the Alps Tour , the Pro Golf Tour and the Nordic Golf League . Starting July 2015, the four Europe-based third-tier tours was accepted into the OWGR rankings. Below this level there are various minor professional tournaments, some of which are organised into series by national golf associations. In 2016, the Dubai-based MENA Golf Tour announced an affiliation with the Sunshine Tour and

896-537: The Professional Golf Tour of India , PGA Tour China and All Thailand Golf Tour . The United States and Europe have additional tours for players who haven't made it onto the Korn Ferry Tour or the Challenge Tour. At this level the prize money is partly funded by entrance fees and only the most successful players will win enough to do more than cover their expenses: the emphasis is very much on moving up to

952-931: The Web.com Tour (1990; originally called the Ben Hogan Tour and later the Korn Ferry Tour) and senior tours such as PGA Tour Champions (1980; originally the Senior PGA Tour and later the Champions Tour) and the Legends Tour (1992; originally the European Senior Tour) have been established to give more golfers the opportunity to play on a tour, and to take advantage of the willingness of sponsors and broadcasters to fund an ever-increasing number of tournaments. There are more than twenty professional golf tours, each run by

1008-637: The 72-hole Northern Professional Championship ; the Leeds Cup and qualifying for the News of the World Matchplay being based on the first two rounds. Ties for qualifying places were determined by the third round scores in the Northern Professional Championship. The same system was used in 1946 when the Northern Professional Championship was revived. In 1947 the Northern Professional Championship

1064-519: The Canada and Latin American tours. There have also been some well known sportsmen from other sports who, after retiring as wealthy men while still at an age when elite golfers are in their prime, have tried their luck as tournament golfers on the developmental tours, but none of them have made it into golf's elite so far. Examples include Ivan Lendl and Roy Wegerle . Two prominent professional athletes from other sports, however, have had modest success on

1120-699: The Epson Tour, women are welcome to compete against men on some mini-tours. At a lower level is the Cactus Tour , founded in 2005, which plays in the American Southwest . It expanded to hold 38 events in 2020, while the LPGA and Epson suspended play from April to August. Sweden , which is the European country where women's golf is most popular, had its own Swedish Golf Tour , established in 1986, since 2021 transformed to

1176-450: The Korn Ferry Tour level. Either way, below Korn Ferry Tour level there is little possibility of earning a living from the prize money alone and players compete to gain competitive experience. Some are employed as club or teaching professionals and play tournaments part-time, while some may have sponsors or family backing. After the new Korn Ferry Tour Finals was established in 2013, mini-tour purses have decreased and players have moved to

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1232-460: The LPGA of Japan Tour enjoyed rapid growth in prize money in the early 2000s, and were less affected by the economic crisis than the U.S. LPGA. The International Federation of PGA Tours is an organization founded in 1996 to enable the world's leading tours to discuss common and global issues in professional golf. The founding members were In 1999 they were joined by the Asian Tour and a year later

1288-642: The Nordic Golf Tour, operated in cooperation by the golf federations in Denmark and Norway and Sweden . The LET Access Series , launched in 2010, is the developmental tour of Ladies European Tour. The LPGA of Japan operates the Step Up Tour as a feeder for its main tour, and the LPGA of Korea operates two mini-tours (Dream Tour and Jump Tour) that effectively serve as feeders for its main tour. The Moonlightgolf.com Tour in central Florida since 1992, offers women

1344-467: The Open. James Braid was absent, having a prior engagement. Vardon won the cup with score of 149, his second round 73 being the best of the day. Herd and Taylor tied for second place on 153. Bertie Snowball , then a young professional at Bradford, won the apprentice prize. 21 of the 26 players returned scores for the two rounds. Mrs Penrose-Green presented the cup to Vardon and Taylor made a short speech thanking

1400-453: The PGA Tour, mainly because most of its tournament sponsors were locked in through 2010; there was media speculation that the expiration of those sponsorship contracts in 2011 would see substantial changes in the landscape of that tour. However, this speculation proved misplaced or at least premature, as the 2011 season was announced with only one less official money event than in 2010 , with virtually identical prize money. The Asian Tour and

1456-648: The PGA of America. Similarly, the European Tour officially began in 1972, although it evolved from the British PGA circuit which merged with the Continental European circuit in 1977 before fully separating from the PGA in 1984. The dates of establishment of the other key tours include: LPGA Tour (1950); Sunshine Tour (1971), Japan Golf Tour (1973); PGA Tour of Australasia (1973), Asian Tour (1995). The Asian Tour

1512-556: The PGA took a big step forward with the appointment of Commander Roe as secretary in 1934. He was at the helm for 28 years and under his leadership regulated membership, improved the quality of tournaments, balanced the books and generally endeavoured to promote an increase in the number of people playing the game. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, the advent of the Ryder Cup, new golf heroes such as Walter Hagen , Gene Sarazen and Henry Cotton , all helped golf's popularity and reinforced

1568-515: The PGA with the Tooting Bec Cup having been contested in October 1901, followed by a tournament at Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club on 23 April 1902. The weather on 6 June was wintry and the professionals had to play in a blinding hailstorm which also made putting difficult. 26 professionals entered included three times Open Champions J.H. Taylor and Harry Vardon and Sandy Herd , twice runner-up in

1624-647: The PGA's position as a leading golf organisation. As the tournament circuit flourished in the late 1960s and 1970s, the PGA Tournament Division went from strength to strength, ultimately going on to form the European Tour in 1984, while the interests of the club professional continued to be represented by the Association at its Belfry headquarters. During the 1960s and 1970s, the PGA rejuvenated its training and education programme, something it has continued to

1680-644: The Tour de las Américas held its 2012 season, it was folded into the new PGA Tour Latinoamérica . In October 2012, the Canadian Tour agreed to be taken over by the PGA Tour, with a name change to PGA Tour Canada taking effect that November. The International Federation of PGA Tours founded the World Golf Championships in 1999 and sanction the Official World Golf Ranking . World ranking points are also awarded for good placings in events on three developmental tours: In addition, until 2017

1736-487: The comprehensive examinations at the end of that period are then known as PGA Professionals and are able to teach and work within the golf industry anywhere in the world. The Professional Golfers' Association qualification (Foundation Degree in Professional Golf Studies) is recognised as one of the most prestigious golfing qualifications in the world. For information on how to become a PGA professional see [1] on

Professional Golfers' Association (Great Britain and Ireland) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1792-597: The cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the News of the World Matchplay . From 1952 to 1954 the cup was held in connection with qualifying for the Goodwin Foursomes . In 1956 it was held in connection with qualifying for the Goodwin Tournament and similarly in 1959 for the Sherwood Forest Foursomes Tournament . In 1937 the event was combined with

1848-415: The early days of professional golf, in each region of the world each professional tournament was established by a separate golf club, golf organisation or commercial sponsor. As the number of tournaments increased, the most talented professional golfers concentrated mainly on playing in tournaments rather than on club professional and golf instruction work. Once a good number of tournaments were being played in

1904-439: The famous golfers who are eligible to compete in these events choose to do so, unless they are unable to for health reasons. A number of players win more than a million dollars in prize money each season, and once endorsements and other business activities are taken into account, a few of the "legends of golf" in this age group earn as much as any of the younger PGA Tour pros. The two main senior tours are: Women's professional golf

1960-442: The following day. In 1933 Jarman beat Ballantine 72 to 74 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1935 Jowle beat Fallon 72 to 73 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1947 Green beat Jowle 137 to 139 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1950 Scott beat Kenyon 72 to 76 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1951 Sutton beat Howard 68 to 75 in the playoff, played the same evening. The 1904 and 1905 contests were

2016-475: The idea of a "tour" had not firmly crystallised at that time and several important developments came much later. Bob Harlow was named manager of the PGA Tournament Bureau in 1930, the first "playing pros" organisation was formed in 1932, and money lists are available from 1934. However the PGA Tour itself dates the formal establishment of the Tour to 1968, when the "Tournament Players Division" split from

2072-547: The leading players of the day, led by the legendary J.H. Taylor had galvanised enough support to form the London and Counties Professional Golfers' Association . The formation of the association was announced in The Times on 9 August 1901. Arthur Balfour consented to be the president of the association. The association had already announced its first competition, to be held at Tooting Bec Golf Club , Furzedown on 8 October. The event

2128-423: The means by which otherwise unconnected professional golf tournaments are organized into a regular schedule. There are separate tours for men and women; most are based in a specific geographical region, although some tours may hold tournaments in other parts of the world. At least 95% of professional golfers make their primary income as club or teaching professionals rather than from competition. A small elite in

2184-462: The members of the Leeds club. Source: In 1912 McEwan beat Pulford 78 to 83 in the playoff, played the following day. In 1913 Hambleton beat Beck 40 to 43 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1919 Ray beat Whiting 40 to 46 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1926 Compston beat Fryer 72 to 76 in the playoff, played the same evening. In 1932 Kenyon beat Taggart 71 to 74 in the playoff, played

2240-543: The new enlarged association. The same meeting also agreed to accept an offer from the Leeds Golf Club to host a tournament on 6 May at which the club would provide a prize. The tournament was contested over 36 holes of stroke play, on a single day. The winner received the Challenge Cup, a memento and the first of six small prizes. There was also a prize for the first apprentice. It was the third tournament organised by

2296-548: The northern section qualifying events for the News of the World Matchplay . From 1911 to 1914 the cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the Sphere and Tatler Foursomes Tournament . From 1920 to 1927 and from 1948 to 1950 the cup was awarded to the winner of the northern section qualifying competition for the Daily Mail Tournament . From 1930 to 1939 and in 1946, 1947, 1951, 1955 and 1961

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2352-744: The official site. A second route into the PGA is via a three-year BA Hons Degree in Applied Golf Management Studies at the University of Birmingham. The AGMS is the first degree of its kind in the UK and is ideal for golfers interested in pursuing senior managerial roles in golf. It was a letter from a North Wales pro in Golf Illustrated on 12 April 1901 that triggered the idea of a professional golfers' association, advocating that pros needed to band together to protect their interests. Within months

2408-534: The opportunity to develop through frequent low cost pro/scratch events. In 2001, the U.S.-based Women's Senior Golf Tour was founded, featuring golfers 45 and over. In 2006, it was rebranded as the Legends Tour and in 2021 The Legends of the LPGA. The LPGA of Korea now operates the Akia Tour, a four-event mini-tour for the same age group. Leeds Cup The Leeds Cup is a golf tournament that has been played annually in northern England since 1902. The event

2464-481: The present day with assistant professionals now graduating with foundation degrees and honours degrees covering all aspects of golf – from playing and coaching through to golf business and marketing. The PGA has strong links to Europe as a member of the PGAs of Europe and is committed to growing the game and helping ordinary golfers enjoy the game to its maximum. Professional golf tours Professional golf tours are

2520-417: The profession who obtain income from prize money and endorsements are called "touring professionals", "tournament golfers", or "pro golfers". The best golfers can make up to 8-figure incomes in U.S. dollars from tournament play. Including endorsement income, pro golfer Tiger Woods was the highest earning sportsman for much of the first decade of the 21st century, according to Forbes magazine. But making

2576-466: The promotion of pro-am golf tournaments and amateur golf, which provide work for its members; and the promotion of junior golf. The PGA, on behalf of the sport of golf, also leads on the development of coach education and training. A full review of the existing coach education structure, following guidance from the quality standards of the UK Coaching Certificate , has led to the establishment of

2632-480: The tour now known as PGA Tour Champions for golfers 50 and over. Former National Football League quarterback John Brodie won one tournament and had 12 top-10 finishes on that tour, and former Major League Baseball pitcher Rick Rhoden had three top-10 finishes. Upon reaching age 50, male golfers are eligible to compete in senior tournaments. Golf is unique among sports in having high profile and lucrative competitions for players of this age group. Nearly all of

2688-402: The tour's events. A golfer can become a member of a leading tour by succeeding in an entry tournament, usually called a Qualifying School ("Q-School"); or, by achieving a designated level of success in its tournaments when competing as an invited non-member; or, much rarer, by having enough notable achievements on other tours to make them a desirable member. Membership of some of the lesser tours

2744-534: Was decided that, subject to certain conditions, it would amalgamate with the London-based Professional Golfers' Association and become the northern section of the new enlarged association. The same meeting also agreed to accept an offer from the Leeds Golf Club to host a tournament on 6 May at which the club would provide a prize. This prize became the Leeds Cup . Administration and organisation of

2800-481: Was delayed by a week and was played on 15 October. The Tooting Bec Club donated a " silver challenge cup " to be awarded to the winner. Of the 50 members who entered 46 played, the tournament being over 36 holes of stroke play. The name of the association was changed at the first AGM on 2 December 1901 to The Professional Golfers' Association. Membership was reported as 59 professionals with 11 assistants and funds of just over £47. The golfing landscape in those early days

2856-615: Was established in the 1970s, and in 1984 this became the independent PGA European Tour . Its activities include the training of assistant professionals and the continuing education of members; the organisation of golf tournaments, including tournaments for its members such as the PGA Cup , contested between Great Britain and Ireland, and the Ryder Cup organized in conjunction with the Professional Golfers Association of America ;

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2912-557: Was included into the world ranking system. Starting in 2018, the Sunshine Tour-affiliated Big Easy Tour was added to the world rankings. Three lower-level tours offer world ranking points and direct promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour for a top five finish on their Orders of Merit, but they are based outside the United States: PGA Tour Canada , PGA Tour China , and PGA Tour Latinoamérica . There

2968-531: Was preceded by the Asia Golf Circuit , which operated from 1962 until 1999. The term "circuit" is often used to describe groups of professional golf tournaments, either organised tours, which may or may not include "unofficial" events, or simply to broadly categorize events in a local area or wider region. As professional golf has continued to expand developmental tours such as the Challenge Tour (1986) and

3024-405: Was the first winner. 2015 marked the 100th staging of the event. The Northern Counties Professional Golfers' Association was formed as a result of a meeting in Leeds on 9 January 1902. At a subsequent meeting, also in Leeds, on 24 March it was decided that, subject to certain conditions, it would amalgamate with the London-based Professional Golfers' Association and become the northern section of

3080-512: Was ultimately unveiled with 24 events, down from 34 as recently as 2008. The tour saw signs of recovery in 2012, with the addition of three new events, the sanctioning of a tournament in Australia , and the return of one tournament that had been off the schedule for a year. By 2014, the LPGA had largely recovered from its 2010 trough, with that year's schedule consisting of 33 events. The late-2000s economic crisis did not have an immediate impact on

3136-425: Was very different to the modern game with pros, even the very best like Taylor, Vardon and Braid, earning a living from club duties, club and ball-making, green-keeping, teaching here and there and of course competing in tournaments. A separate Northern Counties Professional Golfers' Association was formed as a result of a meeting in Leeds on 9 January 1902. At a subsequent meeting, also in Leeds, on 24 March 1902 it

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