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88-615: The Safari Circuit , or Safari Tour , was a small professional golf tour based in West and East Africa that ran from the 1970s through into the 1990s. From 1977, the tour was organised by the PGA European Tour and from 1991 the tournaments were included on the second-tier Challenge Tour schedule. The Safari Circuit developed in the late 1960s as British professionals sought to play some competitive tournament golf while working in Africa during

176-499: 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

264-647: A calendar year. Since the 2014 season, the season starts in October of the previous calendar year, shortly after the Tour Championship. The tournaments in the now season-opening Fall Series are awarded full FedEx Cup points. As a result of the schedule change, the qualifying school no longer grants playing rights on the PGA Tour, but only privileges on the Korn Ferry Tour . The criterion for retaining tour cards at

352-514: 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

440-461: 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

528-476: 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,

616-758: A second $ 1.5 billion following the conclusion of negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund. In addition, active players will be given an opportunity to receive grants of equity in PGA Tour Enterprises. Most members of the tour play between 20 and 30 tournaments in the season. The geography of the tour is determined by climate. It starts in Hawaii in January and spends most of its first two months in California and Arizona during what

704-622: A week off, this time for the Presidents Cup. It then continued with events in three consecutive weeks, took another week off for the HSBC Champions (now elevated to World Golf Championships status), and concluded the week after that. The Fall Series was reduced to four events, all held after the Tour Championship, for 2011. This followed the move of the Viking Classic into the regular season as an alternate event. The 2013 season , which

792-570: 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

880-530: 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

968-645: Is known as the "West Coast Swing" and then moves to the American Southeast for the "Southern Swing". Each swing culminates in a significant tour event. In April, tour events begin to drift north. The summer months are spent mainly in the Northeast and the Midwest, and in the fall (autumn) the tour heads south again. In most of the regular events on tour, the field is either 132, 144 or 156 players, depending on time of year (and available daylight hours). All players making

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1056-638: 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

1144-593: Is not involved with the women's golf tours in the U.S., which are mostly controlled by the LPGA . The PGA Tour is also not the governing body for the game of golf in the United States; this, instead, is the role of the United States Golf Association (USGA), which organizes the U.S. Open . What the PGA Tour does organize are the remaining 43 (in 2009) week-to-week events, including The Players Championship and

1232-518: 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,

1320-625: Is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, as well as the PGA Tour Champions (age 50 and older) and the Korn Ferry Tour (for professional players who have not yet qualified to play on the PGA Tour), as well as the PGA Tour Canada , PGA Tour Latinoamérica , and formerly

1408-622: 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

1496-578: The 2005 Nissan Open . The PGA Tour does not run any of the four major championships ( Masters , PGA Championship , U.S. Open , The Open ), or the Ryder Cup . The PGA of America , not the PGA Tour, runs the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA Championship , and co-organizes the Ryder Cup with Ryder Cup Europe, a company controlled by the PGA European Tour . Additionally, the PGA Tour

1584-778: The BMW Championship , the Tour takes a full week off. In 2008, the break came before the Ryder Cup, with the Tour Championship the week after that. In 2009, the break was followed by the Tour Championship, with the Presidents Cup taking place two weeks after that. 2007 saw the introduction of a tournament in Mexico, an alternate event staged the same week as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship . A tournament in Puerto Rico

1672-531: 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

1760-668: The Kenya Open was founded in 1967, followed by the Lusaka Open in 1969 and the Mufulira Open in 1970, attracting professionals from Great Britain and Ireland, the circuit began to form. In 1972, the Zambia Open was founded, which was initially hosted in rotation by the three existing tournament hosts (Lusaka, Mufulira, Ndola). In the mid-1970s, the Nigerian Open was also included with

1848-598: The Korn Ferry Tour Finals . The Finals field, however, is not expected to consist of all 150 players, as some of the PGA Tour players will be exempt by other criteria, such as a tournament win in the previous two years. A total of 50 PGA Tour cards for the next season is awarded at the end of the Finals. The 25 leading money winners during the Korn Ferry Tour regular season receive cards, and total money earned during

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1936-808: 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

2024-817: 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

2112-646: The PGA Tour China . The PGA Tour is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida , a suburb southeast of Jacksonville . Originally established by the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America), it was spun off in December 1968 into a separate organization for tour players, as opposed to club professionals , the focal members of today's PGA of America. Originally

2200-479: 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

2288-554: The Ryder Cup , held in even-numbered years). Before the transition, the Tour held a group of events known as the PGA Tour Fall Series , which provided a final opportunity for golfers to make the top 125 in season earnings and thereby retain their Tour cards. With the change to an October-to-September season, several of the former Fall Series events will now open the season. The Tour also sanctions two events in Asia during that part of

2376-683: The TPA Tour , for the "Tournament Players Association". The disputed issues were resolved within seven months and the tour's name was changed back to the "PGA Tour" in March 1982. The Official World Golf Ranking was introduced in 1986, with the PGA Tour competing with the European Tour for the top golfers, including the world number one . Tim Finchem became the third commissioner in June 1994 and continued for over 22 years; on January 1, 2017, he

2464-503: The US Department of Justice was investigating the PGA Tour to determine if it engaged in anti-competitive behavior with LIV Golf . In late 2021, the PGA Tour had begun speaking with White House officials and members of Congress to express concerns over LIV Golf. The tour paid over $ 400,000 to the firm DLA Piper to lobby lawmakers on their behalf for various topics including LIV Golf proposals. The tour had previously been investigated in

2552-931: 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

2640-586: The Wisconsin State Open . This legacy lives on with the modern PGA Tour as the Valero Texas Open dates back to this era of state opens on the tour. The tour, then known informally as "The Circuit" for professional golfers in the PGA, became more formalized in 1929. A tournament committee was formed, consisting of Tommy Armour , Al Espinosa and J.J. Patterson. In 1930, Bob Harlow was hired as manager of

2728-491: The "Tournament Players Division", it adopted the name "PGA Tour" in 1975 and runs most of the week-to-week professional golf events on the tournament known as the PGA Tour, including The Players Championship , hosted at TPC Sawgrass ; the FedEx Cup , with its finale at The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club ; and the biennial Presidents Cup . The remaining events on the PGA Tour are run by different organizations, as are

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2816-546: The 1950s, despite injuries from a car crash, star player Ben Hogan won 10 PGA Tour tournaments, including 6 major championships and three times at his hometown tournament in Forth Worth, Texas the Colonial National Invitation . Younger working class player Arnold Palmer won 13 PGA Tour tournaments, becoming a crowd favorite and TV star including capturing his first Masters Tournament on CBS in 1958. Sam Snead

2904-402: The 54-hole cut were designated as MDF (made the cut, did not finish). For the 2020 season, the cut line was reduced to 65 plus ties and eliminated the 54-hole cut. The Fall Series saw major changes for 2009, with one of its events moving to May and another dropping off the schedule entirely. It returned to its original start date of the week after the Tour Championship. Then, as in 2008, it took

2992-519: 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

3080-699: 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

3168-420: The Finals determines the remaining 25 card earners. For all 50 new card earners, their positions on the PGA Tour's priority order for purposes of tournament are based on money earned in the Finals. College players who turn professional can enter the series if their earnings are equivalent to a top-200 PGA Tour or top-75 Korn Ferry Tour finish. In addition, the leading money winners on the Korn Ferry Tour in both

3256-450: 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

3344-408: 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

3432-479: 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

3520-402: The PGA Tour for defecting to LIV. The announcement was met with shock from players, who did not learn of the agreement until it was officially announced, with media outlets describing them as having felt "betrayed" by the decision. The deadline for completing the deal was December 31, 2023, although it was reported that the parties were attempting to negotiate an extension. Concurrently,

3608-428: The PGA Tour has made significant changes to the traditional schedule. In 2007, The Players Championship moved to May so as to have a marquee event in five consecutive months. The Tour Championship moved to mid-September, with an international team event ( Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup ) following at the end of September. The schedule was tweaked slightly in both 2008 and 2009. After the third FedEx Cup playoff event,

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3696-483: The PGA Tour was negotiating with another investor, Strategic Sports Group, which is a consortium of professional sports owners—including Tom Werner , Arthur Blank , Steve Cohen , Wyc Grousbeck , Thomas S. Ricketts , and others—led by Fenway Sports Group . On January 31, 2024, the PGA Tour announced that it had agreed to a $ 3 billion investment by Strategic Sports Group into its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises. The consortium will pay $ 1.5 billion initially, and then

3784-454: The PGA Tour will appoint the majority of its board members and have its commissioner Jay Monahan act as CEO. The agreement does not impact the three entities' administrative oversight over their events, hence the PGA Tour as a sanctioning entity will remain a 501(c)6 nonprofit organization. The agreement ends all pending litigation between the organizations, and there are plans for a "fair and objective" process to readmit players blacklisted by

3872-453: 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

3960-435: The PGA Tournament Bureau and worked to formalize a year-round schedule of tournaments. In 1945, Byron Nelson enjoyed a record-breaking year, winning 18 PGA tournaments out of the 30 he played, including 11 in a row that he played in. Both records are yet to be beaten. The Byron Nelson , which became the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer in 1968, is played annually near Dallas as of 2024. Throughout

4048-493: The PGA desired the money to go to the general fund to help grow the game at the local level. Following the final major in July 1968 at the PGA Championship , several leading tour pros voiced their dissatisfaction with the venue and the abundance of club pros in the field. The increased friction resulted in a new entity in August, what would eventually become the PGA Tour. Tournament players formed their own organization, American Professional Golfers, Inc. (APG), independent of

4136-467: The PGA of America. Its headquarters were in New York City. After several months, a compromise was reached in December: the tour players agreed to abolish the APG and form the PGA "Tournament Players Division", a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board. The board consisted of four tour players, three PGA of America executives, and three outside members, initially business executives. Joseph Dey ,

4224-430: 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

4312-509: 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

4400-465: The U.S.-based LPGA Tour for women and other men's and women's professional tours around the world. The roots of the modern PGA Tour stretch back to April 10, 1916, when the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) was formed. The modern tour recognizes wins from this era as "PGA Tour" victories despite the formal founding of the tour as a separate entity coming much later. By 1916, several prestigious golf tournaments offering prize money to

4488-415: The United States. With the addition of players from continental Europe in 1979 and expanded television coverage, it became very competitive and evolved into the premier international team event, lately dominated by Europe. Both events are very important revenue streams for the PGA of America. In late August 1981, the PGA Tour had a marketing dispute with the PGA of America and officially changed its name to

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4576-424: The circuit being split into legs in West and East Africa. There were many other smaller events surrounding the main tournaments, such as the Gambian and Liberian opens, and the Benin and Port Harcourt pro-ams in Nigeria. In 1977, the British Professional Golfers' Association assumed control of the circuit and the number of Zambian events was reduced to two in order to accommodate the fledgling European Tour , which

4664-438: The circuit, tournament winners were rewarded with exemption on the main tour for that season. The leading money winners were also granted exemption on the tour, and until 1986 the Order of Merit winner was automatically qualified into The Open Championship . In the mid-1980s the circuit suffered as local economies struggled, with prize-money payments from Ivory Coast and Nigerian tournaments being reduced and delayed, culminating in

4752-448: The cut earn money for the tournament with the winner usually receiving 18% of the total purse. In the event that the PGA Tour cannot guarantee four rounds of play, the PGA Tour can shorten an event to 54 holes. A 54-hole event is still considered official, with full points and monies awarded. Any tournament stopped before 54 holes can be completed is reverted to the 36-hole score and the win is considered unofficial, notably Adam Scott at

4840-451: The cut. The cut will continue to be low 70 professionals and ties, unless that results in a post-cut field of more than 78 players. Under that circumstance, the cut score will be selected to make a field as close to 70 players as possible without exceeding 78. Players who are cut in such circumstances but who have placed 70th or worse will get credit for making the cut and will earn official money and FedEx Cup points. This policy affected two of

4928-410: The early 1990s, but despite tour policies having been found to be in violation of antitrust laws, no further action was taken. In August 2022, 11 players who had joined LIV Golf filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to challenge their suspensions. Three players failed to obtain a temporary restraining order to allow them to participate in the FedEx Cup playoffs. The trial for the main case

5016-415: 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

5104-412: The end of the season also changed. Through 2012, the top 125 players on the money list at the end of the PGA Tour season retained their tour cards. For the 2013 season only, the top 125 players on both the money list and the FedEx Cup points list at the end of the FedEx Cup regular season in August retained their cards. The tour also said that it would decide at a later time whether to keep this aspect of

5192-439: 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

5280-410: The first three events with cuts, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Buick Invitational . In late February, the Policy Board announced a revised cut policy, effective beginning with the Honda Classic . The new policy calls for 36-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties and, if that cut results in more than 78 players, a second 54-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties. Those who do not survive

5368-414: The first time. Before 2013, neither event had full PGA Tour status despite being sanctioned by the Tour. Wins in the CIMB Classic were not classified as official PGA Tour wins, and HSBC Champions victories were official wins only for current PGA Tour members. Money earned in these events did not count as official PGA Tour earnings for any purpose. In June 2022, the PGA Tour suspended 17 players who played in

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5456-411: 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

5544-401: The inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event. Monahan wrote in a memo to the tour's membership that any players that take part in future LIV Golf events will be subjected to the same punishment. PGA Tour members that joined LIV Golf included major champions Brooks Koepka , Bryson DeChambeau , Patrick Reed , Dustin Johnson , and Phil Mickelson . In July 2022, it was reported that

5632-425: 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. PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials)

5720-410: The past, this had threatened to make the last 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months of the season anticlimactic, as some of the very top players competed less from that point on. In response, the PGA Tour introduced a new format in 2007, the FedEx Cup . From January through mid-August players competed in "regular season" events and earn FedEx Cup points, in addition to prize money. At the end of the regular season,

5808-417: 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

5896-426: The qualifying system in place in future seasons. Otherwise, the planned move by the tour to have the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup points list retain their tour cards took effect with the 2014 season. The next 75 players on the points list, along with the top 75 on the money list of the Korn Ferry Tour at the end of that tour's regular season, are eligible to play a series of three tournaments in September known as

5984-470: The recently retired USGA executive director, was selected by the board as the tour's first commissioner in January 1969 and agreed to a five-year contract. He was succeeded by tour player Deane Beman in early 1974, who served for twenty years. Jack Nicklaus continued his dominance, winning 38 titles. The tour's name officially changed to the "PGA Tour" in 1975. In 1978 the PGA Tour "removed its restriction on women." However, no women have joined

6072-437: The regular season and Finals receive automatic invitations to The Players Championship (note that if a golfer tops both money lists, only one Players invitation is awarded). Finally, two events held in Asia after the end of the PGA Tour's current regular season – the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and the HSBC Champions , a World Golf Championships event held in China – became full PGA Tour events, with official prize money, for

6160-584: The removal of the East African legs in 1987. As the European Tour schedule expanded further through the 1980s, the Safari Circuit became further squeezed, and the Nigerian and Ivory Coast opens were moved into December. In 1991 the five remaining tournaments were added to the new second-tier Challenge Tour schedule, although for a few years the "Safari Circuit" was still regarded as distinct tour. Professional golf tour At least 95% of professional golfers make their primary income as club or teaching professionals rather than from competition. A small elite in

6248-431: The top 125 FedEx Cup points winners are eligible to compete in the "playoffs", four events taking place from mid-August to mid-September. The field sizes for these events are reduced from 125 to 100 to 70 and finally the traditional 30 for the Tour Championship. Additional FedEx Cup points are earned in these events. At the end of the championship, the top point winner is the season champion. To put this new system into place,

6336-480: 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

6424-469: The tour since this date. Without the tour players, the PGA of America became primarily an association of club professionals , but retained control of two significant events; the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup . The former was an established major championship , but the latter was an obscure match play team event which was not particularly popular with golf fans, due to predictable dominance by

6512-402: 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

6600-592: The week after the Tour Championship. As was the case for the FedEx Cup playoff schedule, the Fall Series schedule was also tweaked in 2008 and 2009. The first 2008 Fall Series event was held opposite the Ryder Cup, and the Fall Series took a week off for the Tour Championship before continuing with its remaining six events. In 2008, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved a change in the number of players that will make

6688-708: The winner had been established in America, including the North and South Open , the Metropolitan Open , the Shawnee Open , the Western Open and the national championship, the U.S. Open . They formed the initial schedule of what came to be known much later as the "PGA Tour", with the addition of the PGA Championship in 1916. The Open Championship in the UK, the oldest golf tournament in

6776-619: The winter prior to the start of the tournament circuit in Great Britain and Ireland . Originally centred around a few tournaments in Kenya and Zambia , as it evolved the tour became known colloquially as the "safari circuit" or "safari tour". The Cock o' the North tournament at Ndola Golf Club in Ndola , Zambia had been held since 1954, being mostly patronised by players from Southern and Central Africa. When

6864-673: The world founded in 1860, would become a PGA Tour event much later in 1995. All Open Championship wins dating back to 1860 were retroactively recognized as PGA Tour victories in 2002. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, various state open tournaments began, many organized by sections of the PGA. Tournaments recognized as PGA Tour wins from this era include the California Open , Connecticut Open , Florida Open , Maryland Open , Massachusetts Open , New Jersey State Open , New York State Open , Ohio Open , Oklahoma Open , Oregon Open , Pennsylvania Open Championship , Utah Open , Virginia Open and

6952-424: The year: On March 20, 2012, the tour announced radical changes to the tour's season and qualifying process. Further details of these changes relating to the Fall Series were announced on June 26, with the remaining details announced on July 10. One of the final details received a minor tweak, effective for the 2013 season only, on September 11. First, the 2013 season was the last to be conducted entirely within

7040-492: Was dominant on his way to a record-setting 82 PGA Tour career victories. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were the dominant players of the 1960s, with Palmer winning 43 titles and Nicklaus winning 30. With an increase of revenue in the late 1960s due to expanded television coverage, a dispute arose between the touring professionals and the PGA of America on how to distribute the windfall. The tour players wanted larger purses, where

7128-557: 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

7216-548: Was introduced in 2008 as an alternate event staged opposite the WGC-CA Championship . The Tour continues through the fall, with the focus on the scramble of the less successful players to earn enough money to retain their tour cards. A circuit known as the Fall Series , originally with seven tournaments but now with four, was introduced in 2007. In its inaugural year, its events were held in seven consecutive weeks, starting

7304-531: 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

7392-460: Was scheduled to begin in September 2023. On June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour, PGA European Tour , and LIV Golf announced that they would enter into an agreement to merge their commercial rights into a single, for-profit entity. The Saudi Public Investment Fund —which funded LIV Golf—will initially serve as the "exclusive investor" in the entity and have right of first refusal for future investments, while

7480-685: Was starting earlier in the year. During this period the Ndola and Mufulira events alternated on the schedule, with Lusaka being held annually. In the 1980s the Ivory Coast Open , Kalahari Diamond Classic (for one year only, in 1982) and Zimbabwe Open were added. As a result, in 1986 the number of tournaments in Zambia was reduced to just one, the Zambia Open at Lusaka. With the PGA European Tour operating

7568-555: Was succeeded by Jay Monahan . As Tiger Woods emerged as a dominant player, TV ratings and revenues soared for the tour. In 1999, the tour began play of the World Golf Championships and the Tour Championship . Tiger Woods continued his dominance of the tour in the 2000s, winning 57 of his 82 career titles. Three of the four majors had settled into a pattern of play in eight weeks between June and August. In

7656-488: Was the last before the tour transitioned to a schedule spanning two calendar years, had 40 official-money events in 38 weeks, including three alternate events played the same week as a higher-status tournament. The other event that is considered part of the 2013 season is the biennial Presidents Cup , matching a team of golfers representing the US with an "International" team consisting of non-European players (Europeans instead play in

7744-512: 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

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