The Brazen New World: Is the PGA Tour Digging Its Own Grave With $20M Limited Field Signature Events?

What is guiding the PGA Tour at this moment? A seemingly utilitarian motif of having something for everyone—in this case, the Tour’s biggest stars? Or to pacify the golf pros who suddenly became aware (thank LIV Golf for that) that they could earn much more?

If, only if, the PGA Tour could do away with its identity. If the PGA Tour could run the risk of losing more sponsors. If Jay Monahan can convince the bottom-rung players that the Tour still values meritocracy because Signature events stand in the opposite of everything the Tour stood for.

The Sentry will usher in a new era on the Tour, the Signature Era, as the top brass calls it. But aside from bootlegging LIV Golf’s no-cut, limited-field format and the pompous claims of swollen purses, where will this $20 million muscle-flexing land the PGA Tour in the future?

Meritocracy waning on the PGA Tour?

For golfers who finished outside the top 50 on the FedEx Points list, signature events are rich in irony. The $20 million purse-elevated events with around 70–80 players will offer 700 points to the winner. The Sentry, the first of the eight Signature events, starting on January 4, has a 59-man field.

Whereas the swing tournaments, with 144–150 men fielding in between the elevated events, have only 500 points on offer for the hard grind. The gross point disparity becomes more crude as you descend the leaderboard.

Precisely because of this, Lanto Griffin has a bone to pick. Give them all the money they want, but why take away the points? ‘Them’ here refers to the top golfers, which includes the top brass of the PGA Tour Policy Board as well.

Griffin voiced his frustration: “I go play Torrey Pines with 156 players and a cut, and Rory goes to L.A. the next week in a 78 players, no-cut field, and he gets nearly three times the points for the same finish. How is one going to compete with that?” But it’s not just Griffin; even veterans who qualified are not entirely happy with it.

Veterans find an uncanny parallel in history

Take Lucas Glover, for example. The veteran has earned his spot at the $20 million signature events. Yet he pulls no punches in condemning Tour’s policy. “We’re touting ourselves as the best Tour in the world, so why wouldn’t you reward the best 125 guys and let them play in your biggest events?”

Glover draws an interesting parallel here. “We’ve seen the World Golf Championship model doesn’t work. We don’t play those anymore. So, why that number?” The World Golf Championship, a model started by former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, has unofficially ended this year.

Similar to signature events, the World Golf Championship had limited fields with no cuts. But unlike today’s elevated events, WGCs offered various openings for golfers from International Tours. Even then, it didn’t work out and eventually lost its importance. Glover questions the rationale behind once again flirting with a similar idea.

Ironically enough, the WGCs too were brought to nip a rival tour in the bud. The current LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman, first floated the idea of international tours with only the top forty players. However, the threat didn’t materialize because of the absence of a deep-pocketed financier like PIF. This time, too, the PGA Tour is cornered. Once again, the Tour is forced to introduce a failsafe measure that might end very badly.

Sponsors are stretched thin

The PGA Tour’s drive to outmuscle LIV Golf in its own game is backfiring. Two long-time sponsors, Honda and Wells Fargo, have decided to end their partnership. While Honda already left last year, Cognizant has replaced them since, and Wells Fargo will end their tie-up this year.

Reportedly, Wells Fargo was not willing to break the partnership, but the Tour pulled the trigger. It’s not just these two; whispers on the inside indicate more sponsors will follow suit if the demand keeps increasing.

Read More: PGA Tour’s Future Under Risk? Tiger Woods’s Win on the Latest Stat Report Hints Disappointing Days Ahead

Another problem with signature events is that the other events will likely see a weaker field. A watered-down field on the PGA Tour spells less ROI for sponsors. Regardless, the PGA Tour is relentless in demanding more from its sponsors.

Is the $3B framework agreement a solution to this? Perhaps the poaching will stop, and so will the dollar race. Money might trickle down to the bottom if both SSG and PIF come on board. However, whether points, the last vestige of meritocracy the Tour prided itself on, will trickle down will depend on the management and how far they can think beyond the four walls.

Watch This Story: ‘Fractured and Politicized’: Alan Shipnuck Thrashes the PGA Tour Amid Jon Rahm’s Massive Money Jump