pga tour championship money winnings

1 st  •  Scottie Scheffler

1 st  •  Tiger Woods

1 st  •  Bryson DeChambeau

Zurich Classic of New Orleans

TPC Louisiana

Payday at East Lake

Here's the FedEx Cup prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 Tour Championship

Ryan Young/PGA Tour

To the winner goes the spoils. But the spoils that come with winning this week’s Tour Championship for Viktor Hovland … well they’re the spectacular variety.

Try $18 million.

Yep, that’s the payday the 25-year-old from Norway collected (after earning $3.6 million for his win last week at the BMW Championship) by closing with a Sunday 63 at East Lake Golf Club (after shooting a Sunday 61 for his win last week at the BMW) to claim a five-shot triumph over Xander Schauffele. Officially, the money on the line this week in Atlanta is not tournament prize money, but rather the payout for the $75 million FedEx Cup bonus pool that players are receiving for their finishes in the season-long points race. (No player’s career earnings increases as a result of their performance in the 2022-23 season finale.)

But that doesn’t mean the cash isn’t crazy. We’ve noted this in the past, but we think it’s worth repeating: For their entire PGA Tour careers, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, winners of 25 majors and 135 tour titles, earned a combined $7,595,888. The difference between finishing first and second this week alone is more than that ($11.5 million).

Here then is the prize money payout for each golfer in the final FedEx Cup standings after the conclusion of the Tour Championship. As with regular PGA Tour events, money is split equally among players if there are tied for different places in this last event of the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.

An additional note: Every player in the FedEx Cup top 150 earns some distribution from the bonus pool. It’s why the list below has far more prize money payouts than just the 30 competing in the Tour Championship.

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Win: Viktor Hovland, -27, $18,000,000

2: Xander Schauffele, -22, $6,500,000

3: Wyndham Clark, -16, $5,000,000

4: Rory McIlroy, -14, $4,000,000

5: Patrick Cantlay, -13, $3,000,000

T-6: Tommy Fleetwood, -11, $2,000,000

T-6: Scottie Scheffler, -11, $2,000,000

T-6: Collin Morikawa, -11, $2,000,000

East Lake Golf Club

T-9: Sam Burns, -10, $990,000

T-9: Matt Fitzpatrick, -10, $990,000

T-9: Max Homa, -10, $990,000

T-9: Adam Schenk, -10, $990,000

T-9: Keegan Bradley, -10, $990,000

T-14: Russell Henley, -9, $780,000

T-14: Sepp Straka, -9, $780,000

T-16: Rickie Fowler, -8, $710,000

T-16: Tyrrell Hatton, -8, $710,000

T-18: Jon Rahm, -7, $670,000

T-18 : Lucas Glover, -7, $670,000

T-20: Si Woo Kim, -6, $620,000

T-20: Tony Finau, -6, $620,000

T-20: Tom Kim, -6, $620,000

23: Brian Harman, -4, $580,000

24: Sungjae Im, -3, $565,000

25: Nick Taylor, -2, $550,000

26: Corey Conners, -1, $540,000

27: Jordan Spieth, +1, $530,000

28: Jason Day, +3, $520,000

T-29: Emiliano Grillo, +6, $505,000

T-29: Taylor Moore, +6, $505,000

31: Sahith Theegala, $250,000

32: Chris Kirk, $236,000

33: Denny McCarthy, $228,000

34: Justin Rose, $221,000

35: Andrew Putnam, $214,000

36: Kurt Kitayama, $211,000

37: Adam Svensson, $209,000

38: Harris English, $208,000

39: J.T. Poston, $207,000

40: Lee Hodges, $206,000

41: Seamus Power, $205,000

42: Cameron Young, $204,000

43: Eric Cole, $203,000

44: Byeong Hun An, $202,000

45: Adam Hadwin, $201,000

46: Tom Hoge, $200,000

47: Brendon Todd, $199,000

48: Cam Davis, $198,000

49: Patrick Rodgers, $197,000

50: Hideki Matsuyama, $196,000

51: Mackenzie Hughes, $195,000

52: Nick Hardy, $194,000

53: Taylor Montgomery, $193,000

54: Alex Smalley, $192,000

55: Thomas Detry, $191,000

56: Stephan Jaeger, $190,000

57: Brandon Wu, $189,000

58: Beau Hossler, $188,000

59: Davis Riley, $187,000

60: Hayden Buckley, $186,000

61: Sam Ryder, $185,000

62: J.J. Spaun, $185,000

63: Ben Griffin, $185,000

64: Keith Mitchell, $185,000

65: Sam Stevens, $185,000

66: Matt Kuchar, $175,000

67: Mark Hubbard, $175,000

68: Aaron Rai, $175,000

69: Vincent Norrman, $175,000

70: Matt NeSmith, $175,000

71: Justin Thomas, $140,000

72: Adam Scott, $140,000

73: Davis Thompson, $140,000

74: Austin Eckroat, $140,000

75: Ben Taylor, $140,000

76: Garrick Higgo, $140,000

77: K.H. Lee, $140,000

78: Shane Lowry, $140,000

79: Michael Kim, $140,000

80: David Lingmerth, $140,000

81: Justin Suh, $140,000

82: Matt Wallace, $140,000

83: S.H. Kim, $140,000

84: Joel Dahmen, $140,000

85: Danny Willett, $140,000

86: Dylan Wu, $130,000

87: Kevin Streelman, $130,000

88: Harry Hall, $130,000

89: Joseph Bramlett, $130,000

90: Billy Horschel, $130,000

91: Callum Tarren, $130,000

92: Robby Shelton, $130,000

93: Zac Blair, $130,000

94: Gary Woodland, $130,000

95: Chez Reavie, $130,000

96: Aaron Baddeley, $130,000

97: Nate Lashley, $130,000

98: David Lipsky, $130,000

99: Kevin Yu, $130,000

100: Will Gordon, $130,000

101: Alex Noren, $120,000

102: Akshay Bhatia, $120,000

103: Justin Lower, $120,000

104: Tyson Alexander, $120,000

105: Andrew Novak, $120,000

106: Greyson Sigg, $120,000

107: Nico Echavarria, $120,000

108: Maverick McNealy, $120,000

109: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, $120,000

110: Tyler Duncan, $120,000

111: Carson Young, $120,000

112: Martin Laird, $120,000

113: Ben Martin, $120,000

114: Taylor Pendrith, $120,000

115: Chad Ramey, $120,000

116: Peter Malnati, $120,000

117: Doug Ghim, $120,000

118: MJ Daffue, $120,000

119: Luke List, $120,000

120: C.T. Pan, $120,000

121: Chesson Hadley, $120,000

122: Patton Kizzire, $120,000

123: Zecheng Dou, $120,000

124: Jimmy Walker, $120,000

125: Austin Smotherman, $120,000

126: Trey Mullinax, $85,000

127: Aaron Wise, $85,000

128: Scott Stallings, $85,000

129: Harrison Endycott, $85,000

130: Scott Piercy, $85,000

131: Erik van Rooyen, $85,000

132: Harry Higgs, $85,000

133: Troy Merritt, $85,000

134: Paul Haley II, $85,000

135: Ludvig Aberg, $85,000

136: Webb Simpson, $85,000

137: Charley Hoffman, $85,000

138: Will Zalatoris, $85,000

139: Kramer Hickok, $85,000

140: Henrik Norlander, $85,000

141: Adam Long, $85,000

142: Cameron Champ, $85,000

143: Russell Knox, $85,000

144: Richy Werenski, $85,000

145: Cody Gribble, $85,000

146: Kevin Tway, $85,000

147: Matti Schmid, $85,000

148: Matthias Schwab, $85,000

149: Ryan Moore, $85,000

150: Carl Yuan, $85,000

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2023 Tour Championship money: Purse, winner’s share, prize money payout

The 2023 Tour Championship prize money payout is from the $57.925 million purse, with 30 professional players who complete four rounds at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., earning an official-money paycheck this week.

The winner's share of Tour Championship prize pool is at $18,000,000, with the second-place finisher taking home $6,500,000 in PGA Tour prize money today. The Tour Championship prize-money payout breakdown shows a payout of more than 18 percent of the purse to the winner, and how much each PGA Tour player earns is guaranteed down to the last-place player, which is $500,000.

For 2023 Tour Championship results and payout , see our final leaderboard

The Tour Championship field is headed by Viktor Hovland , Scottie Scheffler , Max Homa , Rory McIlroy , Matt Fitzpatrick and more. Hovland has a big lead coming into the final day, but East Lake can produce some high, varied scores.

This tournament started with 30 players, and a cut was not made this week after two rounds. Every professional player in the field is paid for completing the event, but how much each player is paid at the 2023 Tour Championship from the correct 2023 Tour Championship full-field payout is based on their finish.

The 36-hole cut is typically made to the top 65 players and ties, with every player able to move up in the final round. However, in the FedEx Cup playoffs, none of the events have a cut.

The 2023 Tour Championship prize money payout is set ahead of the event, with the PGA Tour adding money to the purse if more than 65 professionals make the cut to ensure all players are paid, as is not the case this week.

What else is on the line

Beyond money, there are important points, perks and benefits on the line for the field -- in particular, the tournament winner.

The winner of this event will win the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour's season-long points race.

Additionally, there are 49.5 Official World Golf Ranking points on the line for the winner.

While this event offers a significant payday, a win comes with the benefits that come with winning on the PGA Tour. Winners of these events get a five-plus season exemption on the PGA Tour and entries into all four majors for the next three years.

2023 Tour Championship prize money, winner's share, first-place payout

About the author.

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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Zurich Classic of New Orleans prize money: How much they all won

Zurich Classic of New Orleans prize money: Click here to see how much Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and others won at the PGA Tour's pairs event.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry claimed the Zurich Classic of New Orleans after a one-hole playoff . 

McIlroy and Lowry triumphed over the American pairing of Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer. 

The duo birdied the 72nd to force sudden death and in the end a par at the first playoff hole was enough for the win.

It marked McIlroy's 25th PGA Tour victory and Lowry's first since the 2019 Open Championship . 

In the immediate aftermath of victory McIlroy and Lowry did a bit of karaoke . 

As ever, there was a huge amount of prize money up for grabs. 

The 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans had a total prize purse of $8,900,00. 

That meant that McIlroy and Lowry each received $1,286,050 each. 

Ramey and Trainer each received cheques for $525,100 .

McIlroy's latest win took him to $83,096,279 in official PGA Tour earnings. 

Next up on the PGA Tour schedule is the CJ Cup Byron Nelson . 

GolfMagic has listed all of the payout information below. 

Zurich Classic of New Orleans payout information:

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2024 players championship prize money payouts for each pga tour player, share this article.

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour, especially at the flagship event. Just ask this week’s winner, Scottie Scheffler .

The 27-year-old won the 2024 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, after an 8-under 64 in the final round to claim his eighth PGA Tour victory at 20 under. For his efforts, Scheffler will take home the top prize of $4.5 million, the biggest prize on Tour.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS:   Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Xander Schauffele each missed birdie putts on the 18th green to finish T-2 at 19, one shot out of a playoff. All three will bank $1,981,667.

With $25 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 Players Championship.

Prize money payouts

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2024 Mitsubishi Electric Classic final results: Prize money payout, PGA Tour Champions leaderboard, how much each golfer won

T he 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Classic final leaderboard is headed by winner Stephen Ames, who topped the PGA Tour Champions leaderboard this week with a win on the 2024 PGA Tour Champions schedule at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.

Ames continues dominating on the PGA Tour Champions, winning in the Atlanta area on his birthday on 14-under 202 to beat out last event's winner Paul Broadhurst and Doug Barron by four shots.

Steve Alker and KJ Choi finished tied for fourth place on 9-under total.

Ames won the $300,000 winner's share of the $2,000,000 purse.

Mitsubishi Electric Classic recap notes

Ames wins the eighth PGA Tour Champions title of the year, getting into the winner's circle again on the 50-plus tour.

The money Ames -- and every player in the field -- earned is converted into Charles Schwab Cup points, with every dollar converted into two points during the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs.

There is no cut on PGA Tour Champions-run events, including the major championships they run. Every pro who finished the tournament was paid.

The 2024 PGA Tour Champions schedule continues next week with the Insperity Invitational near Houston, Texas.

2024 Mitsubishi Electric Classic final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

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The post 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Classic final results: Prize money payout, PGA Tour Champions leaderboard, how much each golfer won first appeared on Golf News Net .

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2024 Zurich Classic money: Here’s how much every player made 

Rory McIlroy smiles Sunday at the Zurich Classic.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The Zurich Classic of New Classic may be a team event, but that doesn’t mean a win this week isn’t life-changing.

While stars like the Irish duo of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have their futures secure, teams like Zac Blair/Patrick Fishburn, Chad Ramey/Martin Trainer and Ryan Brehm/Mark Hubbard stand to gain a lot more.

There are no world-ranking points available this week, but each member of the winning team still receives a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, even if they aren’t currently a member, and 400 FedEx Cup points. They’d also gain entrance into this season’s three remaining Signature Events, the next coming in two weeks at the Wells Fargo Championship.

“Yeah, it’s kind of why you’re out here playing is to have opportunities like this,” Blair said Saturday night. “I’ve been out here a handful of years now, so I know that they don’t come that often, and so we’ll do our best to go take advantage of it.”

But ultimately, the rich got richer as McIlroy and Lowry prevailed in a playoff over Trainer and Ramey for their 25th and third PGA Tour wins, respectively.

Each player of the winning team also comes away with $1.286 million for their troubles. The total purse is $8.9 million .

How much every player made at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

(Final payouts will be updated upon conclusion of the event)

1. Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry $1.286 million (per player)

2. Chad Ramey/Martin Trainer $525,100

3. Ryan Brehm/Mark Hubbard $343,762

T4. Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox $234,181.25 Sam Stevens/Paul Barjon Zac Blair/Patrick Fishburn Nico Echavarria/Max Greyserman

T8. Greyson Sigg/Chesson Hadley $149,075 Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre

10. Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin $122,375

T11. Kelly Kraft/Kevin Tway $69,069.37 Austin Eckroat/Chris Gotterup Brice Garnett/Sepp Straka K.H. Lee/Michael Kim Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney Corey Conners/Taylor Pendrith Callum Tarren/David Skinns

T19. Chandler Phillips/Jacob Bridgeman $37,380 Peter Malnati/Russell Knox Luke List/Henrik Norlander Zach Johnson/Ryan Palmer

T23. Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama $23,764.80 Mac Meissner/Austin Smotherman Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele Davis Thompson/Andrew Novak Aaron Rai/David Lipsky

T28. Nick Hardy/Davis Riley $19,135 Brandon Wu/James Nicholas Doug Ghim/Chan Kim Kevin Yu/C.T. Pan Dylan Wu/Justin Lower Ben Kohles/Patton Kizzire Harry Hall/Scott Piercy Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen

36. Matt Wallace/Thorbjorn Oleson $17,533

37. Ben Taylor/Sean O’Hair $17,177

38. Nate Lashley/Rafael Campos $16,821

39. Vincent Norrman/Jorge Campillo $16,465

40. Chez Reavie/Brant Snedeker $16,109

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Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at [email protected] .

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More Money Is Being Handed out in Golf, Again, But There Are Still No Winners

Bob Harig explores the report of PGA Tour equity shares being awarded, some Ryder Cup eligibility news and a tour gets OWGR points (but not that one).

• Author: Bob Harig

You know the plot has been lost—if it hadn’t already occurred long ago—when the social media warriors mocked Rory McIlroy after it was reported he will receive “only” $50 million in the PGA Tour’s equity share plan, while his buddy, Tyrrell Hatton, got $65 million up front from LIV Golf.

Never mind that McIlroy was to receive $27 million in Player Impact Program bonus money the last two years as well as numerous other tour-guided endorsement opportunities.

The fact that anyone on the sideline is claiming “victory” over all of this is beyond comical at this point.

Professional golfers, especially star players, are being rewarded at record levels, some of it overdue, but a good bit of it unsustainable in a commercial world that is still grappling with niche sports status and a divided game.

LIV Golf doesn’t come close to paying its way and almost assuredly never will without big changes. The PGA Tour is asking its nonprofit charitable host organizations to dip into the till to pay future purses to try and keep up. And now the new PGA Tour Enterprises is pledging approximately $930 million to be distributed to 193 players as part of a vesting program that will take eight years.

As part of that program, which was first announced in February , the Tour last week began sending correspondence to players spelling out how much of the loot they are expected to receive. The Telegraph first reported that Tiger Woods is down for $100 million, McIlroy $50 million and players such as Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth for $30 million.

Who knows if those figures are accurate, and it’s hard to believe anyone will publicly confirm them. But it’s all on paper anyway, as this money is not sitting in a vast pot waiting to be scooped up in four, six or eight years’ time.

The initial $1.5 billion in investment from the Strategic Sports Group that landed in the PGA Tour Enterprises account in late January is not earmarked for the players, contrary to numerous reports. The $930 million is based on a PGA Tour Enterprises valuation in excess of $12 billion. The SSG money is meant to be used by the Tour to grow the business, or, to bring back the kind of return that will allow for those massive pay days down the road.

That is the multi-billion-dollar question.

It doesn’t take a financial wizard to see that getting that kind of return on the existing business model of the PGA Tour is far-fetched. PGA Tour events, most of which are non-profit anyway and give their proceeds to charity, make millions not billions. And hitting them up is just a small piece of the plan.

There has to be something else, something bigger and more lucrative.

Buying the DP World Tour’s rights to the Ryder Cup would be one potential avenue for PGA Tour Enterprises. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have a working alliance and a purchase of that could come with a windfall that props up the struggling DP World Tour for years. Getting its hands on the Ryder Cup would finally give the PGA Tour a bigger piece of a huge asset, and along with the Presidents Cup, potentially bring in significant revenue.

Beyond that?

Well, that’s where golf fans should really be focused.

All of this money talk hasn’t exactly left the game in a great place. The idea of “unification” first broached nearly a year ago with the controversial and secret “framework agreement” has yet to even see all of the parties meet in the same room.

McIlroy, who captured his 25th PGA Tour title on Sunday when he won the Zurich Classic with partner Shane Lowry, resigned his spot as a player director on the PGA Tour policy board last November and is now talking about returning to that role , in theory, to knock some heads together and see about getting something done.

Because the game is divided—no matter what you think of LIV Golf or the PGA Tour or both—is not good. And thinking it is going back to the old way, and thus, being bitter toward those who have a role in this current climate, is also not productive.

Getting there, of course, is complicated. There have been rumblings that LIV Golf is perfectly content to operate separate from the PGA Tour. And LIV is planning for the future, with no signs that is conceding. If so, how does that bring the game back together?

Without changes, there is no way for players to compete on both LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. McIlroy’s idea for a Champions League-type series of golf events beyond the existing tours is intriguing, but again, how will it work? Who would qualify? When would the events be played? Would any of them count as PGA Tour or LIV events?

A deal with the PIF, in theory, would only enhance PGA Tour Enterprises and allow for some investment into some of these ideas. But getting there remains a long journey.

In the interim, the greater golf world is getting more annoyed by all the money talk. Nobody wants to hear that already well-compensated golfers are going to cash in even more. Meanwhile, TV ratings of PGA Tour events, even the Masters , are down, and fans aren’t exactly switching over to watch LIV in droves.

It's a game-wide problem that could use some serious attention. And soon.

A path to the Ryder Cup

When Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton signed with LIV Golf, Rory McIlroy was quick to say that the rules need to be amended to allow them to play for Europe in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.

But as new DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings said last week that is not necessary.

Those players are already eligible under the current rules—although the qualification process for next year’s matches has yet to begin.

“If you look at what the qualification/eligibility criteria was for 2023, then I think there has been a slight misconception because the reality is under the current rules, if a player is European and is a member of the DP World Tour and abides by the rules as they currently are—so, if you don’t get a release, there are sanctions and if you accept those sanctions and take those penalties and work with that —there is no reason why players who’ve taken LIV membership but maintain membership with the DP World Tour could not a) qualify or b) be available for selection,” Kinnings said in a media session with UK and Irish golf writers.

Jon Rahm (left) and Tyrrell Hatton are with LIV Golf but may not be out of the picture for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports

Rahm and Hatton will face a one-event suspension and fine for playing in the LIV Adelaide event. A similar scenario exists for this week’s LIV Singapore event. Both are up against DP World Tour events, thus requiring a release.

But according to Kinnings, as long as the players pay the undisclosed fine and serve a one-tournament suspension—even if they were not planning to play a DP World Tour event—they will be eligible, provided the meet the criteria of playing in four DP World Tour events this season.

“It’s not a loophole,” Kinnings said. “That’s the rules we’ve always had and those are the rules we are going to continue to apply. They have been tested and, if everyone applies and follows those rules as they are ... ”

Asked how a player can be suspended from an event they were not planning to play, Kinnings said: “Because rules are rules. Rules are for all of the membership and it’s important for people to know how those apply and they apply to every member.”

LIV Golf has yet to announce the final two events of its schedule but it is expected to conclude the weekend of Sept. 20-22—which is when the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship is contested.

That means Rahm and Hatton would likely need to play a few events prior to that time because they’ll get one-event suspensions for missing that week, thus possibly knocking Rahm out of a tournament in Madrid. The British Masters and European Masters proceed LIV’s final two events.

Following LIV’s season-ending event are tournaments in Spain, France and Scotland.

A 54-hole tour gets OWGR accreditation

During another point in time, the Official World Golf Ranking announcement that it was accrediting the Clutch Pro Tour beginning this week would have barely been noticed.

There are now 25 tours around the world that are getting OWGR points, and you’d probably be hard-pressed to know a single player competing on the Clutch Pro Tour unless he is a family member or acquaintance.

But in the era of the LIV Golf League—which has quite publicly lamented its lack of accreditation and subsequently withdrew its application—any tour stepping up to get entry into the system at least brings a bit of curiosity.

The Clutch Pro Tour is in its fifth season based in the United Kingdom as a developmental tour or feeder tour to the Challenge Tour, which subsequently allows access to the DP World Tour.

Also referred to as the Mizuno Next Gen Series, the tour has a 17-event schedule in 2024.

What is interesting is how the OWGR seemingly went out of its way to highlight aspects of the Tour that have been sticking points for LIV Golf, including the 54-hole format—which, ultimately, has never been a deal-breaker for LIV.

“The Clutch Pro Tour provides access to its official tournaments, conducted over 54 holes with a 36-hole cut, via its 2024 qualifying series held in the UAE and, for its 2025 season, an annual open qualifying school,” the OWGR said in a statement announcing the accreditation. “It also provides local and regional players opportunities, culminating with a no-cut, season-ending Championship. As such, the Clutch Pro Tour is in keeping with long-standing OWGR Eligibility and Format Criteria.”

The OWGR also noted that the process took 17 months in which the “Tour worked continuously toward the standards required to become eligible.”

LIV Golf officially applied for accreditation in July 2022. Its bid was rejected in October 2023, with OWGR chairman Peter Dawson—the former head of the R&A—basically saying that the closed nature of the league and its small relegation and promotion were the main problems.

“We are not at war with them,” Dawson said in an interview with the Associated Press at the time. “This decision to make them eligible is not political. It is entirely technical. LIV players are self-evidently good enough to be ranked. They’re just not playing a format where they can be ranked equitable with the other (now 25) tours and thousands of players who compete on them.”

How much interaction between LIV and the OWGR there was over this was up for debate and speculation. The bid was denied before LIV Golf played its first promotions event, one that saw three players and the winner of the International Series Order of Merit get promoted—with four LIV players being relegated off the tour.

This year, LIV added a new four-man team for Jon Rahm as well as two “wildcard” players to bring its total from 48 players to 54. But aside from injury, it is the same field every week.

It remains puzzling, however, why LIV Golf would rescind its bid and not try and work with OWGR to fix issues to help comply. OWGR went out of its way to say it did the very thing with the Clutch Tour. Both sides should figure this out, because it doesn’t appear the majors will offer access via LIV’s points list.

“I think it will be difficult to establish any type of point system that has any connection to the rest of the world of golf because they're basically, not totally, but for the most part, a closed shop,” Masters chairman Fred Ridley said of the LIV Golf League structure when asked about LIV getting direct spots in future Masters. “There is some relegation, but not very much. It all really depends on what new players they sign.

“Those concerns were expressed by the OWGR, but I don't think that that prevents us from giving subjective consideration based on talent, based on performance to those players.”

Ridley singled out Joaquin Niemann, who was given a special invitation, having won the Australian Open and posted high finishes at the Australian PGA and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. He said nothing about Talor Gooch, whose three LIV Golf League wins last year and individual player title, apparently carried little weight.

The PGA Championship is in two weeks and it is expected to announce those who receive exemptions next week. Typically—although not officially—it issues spots to those otherwise not exempt via the top 100 OWGR. A majority of the field finds its way into the tournament through a top-70 year-long PGA Tour points list and PGA Tour victories.

Niemann has already been extended an invitation and Tyrrell Hatton, who remains a top-20 player, finished among the top 15 last year so he is already exempt. Defending champion Brooks Koepka as well as past major champions Johnson, DeChambeau, Cam Smith and Phil Mickelson are also in the field.

LIV players Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert and Patrick Reed would also be in line for exemptions, if the PGA continues to invite those in the top 100.

David Puig will be an interesting case. The Spaniard who plays for LIV was 104th going into the weekend. He has risen to that point from 239th at the end of the year, having won twice on the Asian Tour as well as a fifth-place finish at the recent Saudi Open.

LIV Golf’s success Down Under ... and other notes

There is no denying the passion for golf in Australia. For the second year, the LIV Golf Adelaide event delivered, with boisterous crowds, an enhanced party hole and even more spectators than last year. Various media reports put Sunday’s final tally at 35,000 spectators and LIV Golf announced more than 94,000 for the week.

The tournament got an added bonuses of the first-ever team playoff and it included the Australian team captained by Cam Smith. He and Marc Leishman of Ripper GC took on Louis Oosthuizen and Dean Burmester from the all-South African team Stinger GC and went two holes in a sudden-death playoff with both scores counting. The atmosphere was quite lively, as spectators cheered, for example, when Burmester left a shot in a bunker. And the Aussies won to the delirious delight of the Australian fans.

Brendan Steele got his first LIV Golf win in Australia.

Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

Brendan Steele got his first individual victory and his HyFlyers team captained by Phil Mickelson got a third-place finish and a first time on the podium (only the top three teams share in team prize money). All in all, it appeared a rousing success and makes you wonder if LIV Golf should schedule more than one event for Australia.

Greg Norman, the Aussie legend and LIV Golf commissioner, couldn’t help himself afterward. In an interview with Australian Golf Digest , the two-time major winner who has long sought to bring more meaningful golf to his homeland, took a victory lap.

“Vindication is not the right word,” Norman told the publication, before pausing. “It’s the ignorance of others who simply didn’t understand what we were trying to do. I actually feel sorry for them because they now see the true value of LIV Golf and want to be a part of it.”

The Shark might have gotten caught up in the moment.

“The support Australia gave me during my own playing career for decades was something I have never forgotten,” Norman said. “It’s why I brought LIV Golf back home—I did it for them. The people have well and truly spoken. Both individual and team golf is alive and well in Australia and they deserve it. I knew they would support this event.

“I’m feeling extremely proud right now. With what we’ve (LIV Golf) gone through over the past 16 months, both as a league and what I’ve copped personally ... the hatred ... this makes it all worthwhile.”

Some of the vitriol toward Norman is not likely to subside. To many, he’s viewed as the person who divided the game—even if it is far more complicated than that. But Norman did deliver on his idea in his homeland, and he told Australian Golf Digest that he’s looking to bring the concept to other places, such as South Africa. Next up is this week’s event in Singapore.

And a few more things ...

Rory McIlroy was credited with his 25th PGA Tour victory after winning the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry . And he’s entered some rare air among all-time PGA Tour winners. That tied him with Johnny Miller at 23rd all time along with Tommy Armour and Macdonald Smith . He’s one behind Henry Picard . The victory moved McIlroy past Dustin Johnson , who now plays for LIV Golf. The only active PGA Tour player ahead of McIlroy is Tiger Woods (82). Phil Mickelson (45), Tom Watson (39) and  Vijay Singh (34) are the only players ahead of McIlroy whom he would have competed against. ... Not surprisingly, Scottie Scheffler is not in his hometown Byron Nelson event this week as he awaits the birth of his first child. The tournament has just four of the top 30 in the Official World Golf Ranking. ... A big stretch awaits as the Wells Fargo Championship, a signature event, follows and then the PGA Championship. Last year, Scheffler skipped Quail Hollow. ... The Byron Nelson is the cutoff for the PGA Championship’s 70-player points list that began the week prior to last year’s PGA Championship. The tournament can go beyond 70 to fill out its field and traditionally also invites the top 100 OWGR who are not otherwise exempt. ... LIV Golf reaches the halfway point of its 14-event schedule when it returns to Singapore and Sentosa Golf Club this week. ... The PGA Championship begins in 17 days.

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