PGA Tour 2024 season schedule and dates revealed with ‘more at stake every week’ under new plans | Golf News

August 7, 2023 admin

Increase in no-cut events and events with limited fields; eight ‘signature events’ form part of 36-event regular season; PGA Tour says new-look schedule will create “excitement for our fans and reward players like never before”; watch the PGA Tour live on Sky Sports Golf

Last Updated: 07/08/23 9:18pm

The PGA Tour has released a new “reimagined” schedule for the 2024 season, which features more no-cut events than ever before and an increased $25m prize for the winner of the FedExCup.

Returning to a calendar-year schedule for the first time since 2012, the PGA Tour has described the events as being “interconnected like never before to deliver maximum drama and consequence”.

The FedExCup Regular Season will consist of 36 events.

The 2024 season begins in early January with the ‘Opening Drive’ double-header at The Sentry and Sony Open in Hawaii, and runs through to the Wyndham Championship in early August.

These tournaments include the four majors, The Players Championship and eight ‘signature events’.

At the end of the regular season, the top 70 players will advance to the FedExCup Playoffs.

“We are excited about the roll-out of the PGA Tour’s reimagined schedule and what the season will offer to our fans: a January start with stars competing head-to-head more often, alongside the weekly drama of life-altering moments and the emergence of new stars,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

“While winning on the PGA Tour continues to be the ultimate – and most difficult – challenge, we have further connected every tournament, with more at stake each week.

“From The Sentry through the FedExCup Playoffs and into the soon-to-be-announced FedExCup Fall, this new, cadence will create consistent excitement for our fans and reward players like never before.

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Charley Hoffman makes an albatross on the 15th hole of the Sedgefield Country Club at the Wyndham Championship

“We are grateful to the membership – especially the Player Directors and Player Advisory Council – as well as our tournaments and partners for the collaboration that has set us up for an exciting 2024.”

The release of the 2024 calendar comes two months after the the PGA Tour and DP World Tour announced a shock proposed agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which funds LIV Golf, to form a new joint commercial entity in order to “unify the game”.

The ‘signature events’ explained

Previously referred to as ‘designated events’ in 2023, the newly-renamed signature events underline the continued evolution of the PGA Tour’s season format.

The eight events are limited-field tournaments with increased prize money and FedExCup points.

Five of these will not feature a cut, but the three player-hosted invitationals – The Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Memorial Tournament – will still feature a 36-hole cut to the top 50 and ties and any player within 10 shots of the lead.

The eight ‘signature events’ are as follows:

The Sentry (January 1-7)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (January 29-February 4)
The Genesis Invitational (February 12-18)
Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (March 4-10)
RBC Heritage (April 15-21)
Wells Fargo Championship (May 6-12)
the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday (June 3-9)
Travelers Championship (June 17-23)

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Justin Thomas missed the FedExCup Playoffs in a painful way as his chip attempt stayed out after hitting the pin, meaning he finished outside the top 70 in the points standings

Explaining the qualification process for these events, the PGA Tour said in a statement: “The 2024 schedule cadence connects events through several new eligibility paths, allowing trending players to earn Signature Event starts and ensuring every member the opportunity to compete alongside the game’s best.

“The Sentry is the season’s first Signature Event and includes PGA TOUR winners from the previous calendar year as well as the top 50 members from the 2022-23 FedExCup standings (i.e. those who qualify for the BMW Championship, the second FedExCup Playoffs event).

“Eligibility for the remaining seven Signature Events (field sizes anticipated to be between 70-80 players) includes the top 50 members from the 2022-23 FedExCup standings and 15 members who can play their way in through The Next 10 and The Swing 5.”

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a new addition to that list for 2024 and will feature a revised format. Amateurs will now compete alongside professionals (80 players) over the first two rounds, with the competition limited to professionals only for the final two rounds.

Beem: Designated events with cuts will create more excitement

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Rich Beem gives his thoughts on the PGA Tour’s announcement that a huge change to the schedule is planned for 2024 including eight elevated events with five of those tournaments not having a cut.

2002 PGA Championship winner and Sky Sports’ Rich Beem on the new calendar:

“Looking at the schedule I think there’s very few surprises. The designated events and those three which are designated, where they will have cuts – the ones that Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer host – they are going to have a cut into the low 50 [players] and then it will be an increased purse to the winner from $3.6m to $4m.

“I think that will create a lot more excitement for fans at home and for us watching on TV just for the simple fact that a lot of times this year, especially on Fridays, we are looking at a lot of drama for some players trying to finally make the cut.

“If you look at the way, even the top players in the world play the game at the highest level, they are grinding it as much as they possibly can to stick around for the final 36 because they know anything is possible.

“I’m glad we have at least three of those designated events, out of the eight, that are going to go ahead and have a cut line. I think that’s going to be really valuable. What happens with that will determine whether we have cuts going forward in those designated events.”

Watch all the women’s majors, the Solheim Cup, the Ryder Cup and the end of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour seasons exclusively live over the coming months on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the best sport with NOW