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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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The Real PGA Tour Money List for 2023: Rahm, Hovland, McIlroy & More

Scottie Scheffler topped the traditional money list, but that was before $75 million in FedEx Cup payouts — find out who’s truly No. 1 in 2022-23.

Entering the 2023 Tour Championship — the finale of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and by extension this year’s PGA Tour campaign — Scottie Scheffler was on the doorstep of golf history. Already the Tour’s record-holder for single-season tournament winnings at just over $21 million, he had a chance to score some serious style points and nearly double his financial haul.

Due to FedEx Cup regulations, his status as playoff points leader meant that he even got to start out the Tour Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club at -10, two strokes ahead of the No. 2 competitor on the leaderboard.

When the dust had settled on Aug. 27, however, Scheffler finished just sixth, though he nonetheless earned a $2 million FedEx Cup payout that wasn’t so far off from the handsome $2.7 million he received for winning The Masters in 2022.

Viktor Hovland, meanwhile? The No. 3 money winner from the regular PGA Tour season increased his annual on-course earnings by an incredible 127% in outlasting the Tour Championship field and claiming the FedEx Cup’s eye-popping $18 million top prize.

That’s a lot to process, to say the least. So, what does the “real” year-end PGA Tour money list look like when a full $75 million in playoff bonuses gets factored in?

We went ahead and crunched the numbers for you — check out Boardroom’s full 2022-23 PGA Tour earnings rundown that combines the traditional money list with the final FedEx Cup payout numbers.

Get on our list for weekly sports business, industry trends, interviews, and more.

Combined 2022-23 PGA Tour Money List Earnings & FedEx Cup Payouts

NOTE: Additional bonus money will be handed out to top players later this year when the PGA Tour announces the top finishers for its Player Impact Program, which seeks to rank the most popular golfers on the Tour regardless of tournament performance.

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Rory McIlroy wins PGA Tour's Player Impact Program, accompanying $15M bonus

Andrew Redington

Rory McIlroy is the winner of the PGA Tour’s 2023 Player Impact Program, which comes with a $15 million payday. The results were released to players on Wednesday in a memo from PGA Tour executive vice president and chief player officer Jason Gore, a copy of which was published via social media by tour member Nate Lashley .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nathan Lashley (@nlashley001)

McIlroy, 34, had two worldwide wins in 2023 and scored a team-best four points for the Europeans en route to victory at the Ryder Cup. The Ulsterman continued to be the de facto face of the tour in its battle against LIV Golf, a position he acknowledged made him feel like a “sacrificial lamb” following announcement of the tour’s surprise framework agreement with LIV’s backer, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, in June. The PIP news comes a week after McIlroy resigned his post from the PGA Tour’s policy board and two days after TGL—the tech-inflused golf league he formed with Tiger Woods—announced it was delaying its launch by a year.

The PIP is a bonus pool that was instituted in 2021 to reward players who boosted engagement and publicity for the tour. Ostensibly a response to some of the lucrative deals rumored to be coming from the then-Premier Golf League, the inaugural program somewhat backfired; five of the 10 winners in 2021—Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bubba Watson—ultimately left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. However, improvements to the PIP were announced at this last year’s Tour Championship to broaden its scope. After spreading out $40 million to those on last year’s list, the 2022 and 2023 PIP pools were increased to $100 million in payouts, with 20 players earning rewards.

The tour uses a number of measurements for putting together the list: Internet searches, the number of unique news articles that include a player’s name, duration that a player’s sponsor logos appeared on screen during Saturday and Sunday PGA Tour telecasts, a player’s general awareness score among broad U.S. population, and social media score that considers a player’s reach, conversation and engagement metrics. Along with Google Search, Meltwater and Nielsen measurements, the 2023 list added general population and fan awareness criteria.

Any player eligible for PIP payments must fulfill three additional requirements to be paid in full. They include: 1) Play in a mutually agreed-upon PIP Designated tournament; 2) Participate in a mutually agreed-upon PIP service event; 3) Fulfill the Mandatory Participation Requirement as outlined in the PGA Tour Tournament Regulations handbook. Players will receive PIP payments in two installments. The first 75 percent will be paid with the Sentry (formerly known as the Tournament of Champions) purse payment, and the remaining 25 percent will be paid once a player completes the three obligations.

Woods, who won the first two PIP bonus pools, finished second in this year’s ranking. Woods played just events in 2023 and hasn’t competed since withdrawing from the Masters. Woods, who underwent ankle surgery just weeks after his Augusta National appearance, is scheduled to return at his Hero World Challenge exhibition next week.

In posting the results, Lashley, a 40-year-old with one win in six seasons on the tour (2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic), did so seemingly in frustation over the format, editorializing in the post: “How many golf fans actually know what the PIP on the PGA Tour is? Would love to hear from golf/PGA fans if they think this $100 million was spent well? There’s 150-200 members of the PGA Tour and they just spent $100 million on 20 players. Seems a little ridiculous. Time for new leadership on the PGA Tour. This is an absolute kick in the face to the rest of the PGA Tour players.”

Below is the list of PIP winners, along with their bonus for making the list:

1: Rory McIlroy, $15 million

2: Tiger Woods, $12 million

3: Jon Rahm, $9 million

4: Jordan Spieth, $7.5 million

5: Scottie Scheffler, $6 million

6: Rickie Fowler, $5 million

7: Viktor Hovland, $5 million

8: Justin Thomas, $5 million

9: Tommy Fleetwood, $5 million

10: Max Homa, $5 million

11: Xander Schauffele, $3 million

12: Jason Day, $3 million

13: Tony Finau, $3 million

14: Collin Morikawa, $3 million

15: Matt Fitzpatrick, $3 million

16: Wyndham Clark, $2 million

17: Cameron Young, $2 million

18: Justin Rose, $2 million

19: Patrick Cantlay, $2 million

20: Brian Harman, $2 million

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2024 RBC Heritage prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

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

The 27-year-old won the 2024 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on Monday after play was suspended for two-and-a-half hours on Sunday due to inclement weather and then later for darkness. The win is the world No. 1's fourth in his last five starts and 10th of his PGA Tour career.

Last week Scheffler won $3.6 million at the Masters and he earned another $3.6 million for his win this week in the PGA Tour's latest big-money signature event. Sahith Theegala, who finished three shots back in second, banked a hefty $2.18 million for his runner-up showing. Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, who finished T-3 at 15 under, each banked $1.18 million.

With $20 million up for grabs, check out how much money each PGA Tour player earned this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage in Hilton Head.

Prize money payouts

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2024 RBC Heritage prize money payouts for each PGA Tour player

PGA TOUR Player Stats 2024

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• DDIS : Driving distance (in yards)
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2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds, field: Surprising PGA picks, predictions by model that's nailed 11 majors

Sportsline's proven model simulated the cj cup byron nelson 2024 10,000 times and revealed its pga golf picks.

The third PGA Tour event in Texas this year begins on Thursday as the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson tees off in the Dallas metro. Stephan Jager won in Houston and Akshay Bhatia won in San Antonio prior to the Masters, with the PGA Tour coming back to Dallas-Fort Worth at the end of May. The CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2024 field is loaded with Dallas natives like Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris, and the Texans also happen to top the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds board. Spieth is the 12-1 favorite, and Zalatoris is the third-favorite at 22-1, with Jason Day (18-1) sandwiched in between.

TPC Craig Ranch, a par-72, 7,468-yard course with Bentgrass greens will host the tournament, which has Day as the defending champion and a two-time winner. Si Woo Kim, who was runner-up last year, is at 22-1, while K.H. Lee, who was the back-to-back winner in 2021-22, is a 60-1 longshot. Before making any 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson picks, be sure t o see the golf predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine .

SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been red-hot since the PGA Tour resumed in June of 2020. In fact, the model is up more than $9,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

McClure's model correctly predicted Scottie Scheffler would finish on top of the leaderboard at the 2024 Masters, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship, and the RBC Heritage this season. McClure also included Hideki Matsuyama in his best bets to win the 2024 Genesis Invitational. That bet hit at +9000, and for the entire tournament, McClure's best bets returned nearly $1,000.

The model also predicted Jon Rahm would be victorious at the 2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions and The American Express. At the 2023 Masters, the model was all over Rahm's second career major victory heading into the weekend. Rahm was two strokes off the lead heading into the third round, but the model still projected him as the winner. It was the second straight Masters win for the model, which also nailed Scheffler winning in 2022.

In addition, McClure's best bets included Nick Taylor (70-1) winning the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, Jason Day (17-1) winning outright at the 2023 AT&T Byron Nelson, and Rickie Fowler (14-1) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

This same model has also nailed a whopping 11 majors entering the weekend and hit the Masters three straight years. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.

Now that the CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2024 field is finalized, SportsLine simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard .

Top 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2024: Day, the defending champion and one of the top favorites, stumbles and barely cracks the top five. Day got off to a hot start this season when he posted three top-10 finishes in his first five tournaments, but he has struggled since then. He has finished outside the top 15 in his last five events, including a missed cut at the Texas Children's Houston Open at the end of March. 

Day ranks 183rd on the PGA Tour in approach shots from more than 200 yards, which will be a shot that he has to take throughout this tournament. He is also ranked 133rd in green in regulation percentage (63.62%) and 152nd in strokes gained: approach to green (-0.380). Day is not in strong form right now, so the model is looking elsewhere with its pick to win this tournament. 

Another surprise: Min Woo Lee, a 28-1 longshot, makes a strong run at the title. Lee entered this tournament last year ranked 62nd in the world, but he's steadily risen and is now No. 32 in World Ranking. That's thanks to collecting a pair of international victories since October and just missing another with a runner-up on the Cognizant Classic of the PGA Tour last month. Lee's last tournament was at the Masters where he finished a solid 22nd, giving him three top 25s over his last four major starts.

TPC Craig Ranch presents birdie opportunities on the four par 5s, and Lee is among the best in the world on these holes. He ranks 13th on tour in par 5 scoring, thanks to elite driving skills as Lee ranks in the top 20 in driving distance, driving accuracy and total driving. Maybe just as importantly, Lee is one who avoids major mistakes as he ranks 21st on the PGA Tour in 3-putt avoidance. With a somewhat diluted field devoid of many of the top players on tour, a golfer with Lee's strengths would be a valuable asset in 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson bets.  See who else to pick here . 

How to make 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson picks

The model is also targeting three other golfers with odds of 28-1 or longer to make a strong run at the title. Anyone who backs these longshots could hit it big. You can only see the model's picks here .

Who will win the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the CJ Cup Byron Nelson 2024 odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected CJ Cup Byron Nelson leaderboard , all from the model that's nailed 11 golf majors, including the last three Masters.

2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson odds, field

Get full 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson picks, best bets, and predictions here .

Jordan Spieth +1200 Jason Day +1800 Will Zalatoris +2200 Si Woo Kim +2200 Sungjae Im +2500 Alex Noren +2500 Adam Scott +2500 Tom Hoge +2800 Min Woo Lee +2800 Byeong Hun An +3000 Stephan Jaeger +3000 Keith Mitchell +3500 Tom Kim +4000 Thomas Detry +4500 Patrick Rodgers +5000 Maverick McNealy +5000 Mackenzie Hughes +5500 Adam Schenk +5500 Aaron Rai +6000 Beau Hossler +6000 K.H. Lee +6000 Davis Thompson +6500 Taylor Montgomery +6500 Seamus Power +7000 Mark Hubbard +7000 Luke List +7500 Doug Ghim +8000 Ryan Fox +8000 Kevin Yu +8000 Ben Griffin +8000 Jake Knapp +9000 Taylor Pendrith +9000 Daniel Berger +9000 Thorbjorn Olesen +9000 C.T. Pan +10000 Alejandro Tosti +10000 Matt Kuchar +10000 Sam Stevens +10000 Nate Lashley +10000 Peter Kuest +10000 Chan Kim +10000 Joseph Bramlett +10000 Michael Kim +11000 Greyson Sigg +11000 Andrew Novak +11000 Matti Schmid +11000 Justin Lower +11000 Max Greyserman +11000 Chesson Hadley +11000 Cameron Champ +11000 Charley Hoffman +11000 Garrick Higgo +11000

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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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2023 PGA Championship final results: Prize money payout, leaderboard and how much each golfer won

The 2023 PGA Championship final leaderboard is headed by winner Brooks Koepka , who earns his fifth-career major championship title with a two-shot win at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.

Koepka was locked in a tight battle all day with Viktor Hovland , when Hovland's second shot didn't completely clear the lip of the fairway bunker on the 16th hole, leading to a tournament-losing double-bogey 6. Koepka made a birdie on the same hole to open up a four-shot lead. Ultimately, Koepka went bogey-par to finish and win on 9-under 271.

Hovland made birdie on the 72nd hole to lock up a tie for second place with Scottie Scheffler .

Koepka won the $3,150,000 winner's share of the $17,500,000 purse.

PGA Championship recap notes

Koepka earned 100 Official World Golf Ranking points with the win in the 72-hole stroke-play championship, which helps his place in the world ranking.

Koepka did not earn 600 FedEx Cup points, as he is no longer a PGA Tour member, but he did earn enough Ryder Cup points to practically secure a spot on the US team.

A total of 76 (of 156) players finished the tournament in the 31st event of the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season after a 36-hole cut was made in this event.

The 2022-2023 PGA Tour schedule continues next week with the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge .

2023 PGA Championship final leaderboard, results and prize money payouts

Click header to sort; rotate mobile screens for details

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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PGA Tour goes to Dallas for same course and new title. LIV Golf plays in Singapore

Shane Lowry, of Ireland, hits out of the sand on the 15th fairway during the final round of the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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THE CJ CUP BYRON NELSON

Site: McKinney, Texas.

Course: TPC Craig Ranch. Yardage: 7,414. Par: 71.

Prize money: $9.5 million. Winner’s share: $1,710,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Jason Day.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Notes: Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris and Tom Kim lead the contingent of Dallas-area residents playing the tournament. ... CJ Cup takes over as title sponsor after AT&T ended its sponsorship after nine years. CJ Cup started out with a tournament in South Korea, then moved to Las Vegas and South Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic. ... The field features only 10 of the top 50 in the world ranking. Spieth is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 20. ... Scottie Scheffler is missing the tournament as his wife is expecting their first child. ... Adam Scott is playing the tournament for the third straight year. He won the Byron Nelson in 2008. ... This is the final week to finish among the top 70 in the PGA Championship points list to assure a spot at Valhalla in two weeks. The points list is PGA Tour earnings the last 12 months. ... Spieth now has gone 43 starts over two years on the PGA Tour since his last victory.

Next week: Wells Fargo Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LIV GOLF SINGAPORE

Site: Singapore.

Course: Sentosa GC (Serapong). Yardage: 7,406. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $4 million.

Television: Thursday-Saturday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (CW app); Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW Network-Tape Delay).

Defending champion: Talor Gooch.

Points leader: Joaquin Niemann.

Last week: Brendan Steele won LIV Golf Adelaide.

Notes: Brendan Steele last week became the third straight first-time winner on LIV Golf, matching the longest such streak since the league launched in June 2022. ... Jon Rahm has yet to win since joining LIV this year, but he is the only player in 2024 to have finished in the top 10 in all six events. ... Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford were the only players who did not have a round under par last week in Australia. ... Poulter in 2009 and Sergio Garcia in 2018 won the Singapore Open when it was played at Sentosa. ... With the PGA Championship approaching, LIV has three players in the top 100 who are not already eligible — Adrian Meronk, Lucas Herbert and Patrick Reed. ... LIV already has 10 players in the PGA Championship field at Valhalla. ... After back-to-back weeks in Australia and Asia, LIV Golf is off for a month until a week before the U.S. Open.

Next tournament: LIV Golf Houston on June 7-9.

Online: https://www.livgolf.com/

EUROPEAN TOUR

VOLVO CHINA OPEN

Site: Shenzhen, China.

Course: Hidden Grace GC. Yards: 7,147. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.25 million. Winner’s share: $375,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 12-5 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 12-4:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 11:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Sarit Suwannarut.

Race to Dubai leader: Rory McIlroy.

Last week: Yuto Katsuragawa won the ISPS Handa Championship.

Notes: The China Open returns to the European tour schedule for the first time since 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was held last year co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the China Tour. ... This is the final event that counts toward the Asian Swing on the European. The top three players get exemptions into the PGA Championship next month at Valhalla. Sebastian Soderberg, Keita Nakajima and Jesper Svensson are currently holding down the top three spots. ... Thriston Lawrence leads the European tour this season with five finishes in the top 10. ... Katsuragawa is the fourth player from Japan in the last seven months to win on the European tour. The others were Ryo Hisatsune, Rikuya Hoshino and Nakajima. ... The tour is off until the PGA Championship on May 16-19. After that begins a stretch in which 17 consecutive events (outside the majors) are staged in European countries.

Next tournament: PGA Championship on May 16-19.

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

INSPERITY INVITATIONAL

Site: The Woodlands, Texas.

Course: The Woodlands CC (Tournament). Yards: 7,002. Par: 72.

Prize money: $2.7 million. Winner’s share: $405,000.

Television: Friday, 12:30-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Steven Alker.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stephen Ames.

Last week: Stephen Ames won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Notes: Bernhard Langer returns to competition after injuring his Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on Feb. 1. The injury caused him to miss the Masters. ... Langer has won every year since first becoming eligible for the PGA Tour Champions in 2007. He is a four-time winner of the Insperity Invitational. ... Stephen Ames took over the Charles Schwab Cup lead over Steven Alker by winning at the TPC Sugarloaf last week. It was his second win this season. ... Alker is the two-time defending champion at The Woodlands. ... Ames is the only multiple winner on the PGA Tour Champions in 2024. ... The field includes Steve Stricker, who missed the cut last week in New Orleans on the PGA Tour. ... Paul Broadhurst of England has won and finished runner-up in his last two starts. ... This is the last regular event before the first of five majors on the PGA Tour Champions schedule.

Next week: Regions Tradition.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

Last week: Hannah Green won the JM Eagle LA Championship.

Next week: Cognizant Founders Cup.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/

KORN FERRY TOUR

Last week: Tim Widing won the Veritex Bank Championship.

Next tournament: AdventHealth Championship on May 16-19.

Points leader: Tim Widing.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

OTHER TOURS

Epson Tour: Casino Del Sol Golf Classic, Sewailo GC, Tucson, Ariz. Defending champion: Gigi Stoll. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

PGA of America: PGA Professional Championship, Fields Ranch at PGA (East and West), Frisco, Texas. Defending champion: Braden Shattuck. Television: Tuesday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel); Wednesday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel). Online: https://www.pga.com/

Japan Golf Tour: The Crowns, Nagoya GC (Wago), Aichi, Japan. Defending champion: Hiroshi Iwata. Online: https://www.jgto.org/en/

Asian Tour: GS Caltex Maekyung Open, Namseoul CC, Seongnam, South Korea. Defending champion: Chanmin Jung. Online: https://asiantour.com/

Legends Tour: Barbados Leges, Apes Hills Barbados, Saint James, Barbados. Defending champion: New tournament. Online: https://www.legendstour.com/

Japan LPGA: World Ladies Championship Salonpas Cup, Ibaraki GC (East), Ibaraki, Japan. Defending champion: Yuri Yoshida. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: Kyochon 1991 Ladies Open, Sunsan CC, Gumi South Korea. Defending champion: Bokyeom Park. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Shunning Rory McIlroy would represent epic embarrassment for PGA Tour

World No 2 basically auditioning for acceptance to return to policy board is faintly ludicrous in increasingly fractured sport

T he most unpalatable and unlikely scenario could be a necessary one. Rory McIlroy to LIV has been rumoured, slapped down, rumoured and slapped down. Yet as the PGA Tour procrastinates over completion of a deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and even the formal involvement of McIlroy himself, one wonders if it may take something nuclear to allow golf to wake up to the haplessness of its present, fractured state. Should McIlroy sign for golf’s rebel tour the establishment would be sent into a level of frenzy so serious that collaboration between the PGA Tour, LIV and the PIF would surely transpire in a heartbeat.

There is no suggestion this will happen. Still, Greg Norman knew precisely what he was doing in recent days. “If Rory was willing to sit down and have a conversation with us, would we be happy to sit down with him?” Norman said. “100%.” McIlroy is not actually the PGA Tour’s main concern. The live prospect of LIV continuing a talent drain on established tours into 2025 should be the prime cause for fear. While not McIlroy, it could be Viktor Hovland . If not Hovland, it could be Tommy Fleetwood. The PGA Tour and its marquee events are being materially harmed by golf’s lack of compatibility. This will continue to be the case while the PGA Tour wanders aimlessly on one path and LIV confidently on another.

A Monday morning conference call will determine whether or not McIlroy will make a return to the PGA Tour’s policy board and become a director of the recently established PGA Tour Enterprises. This vote should have taken place on Wednesday. It is a telling indicator of the corporate muddle that McIlroy – not the most famous individual in golf but surely the most influential – was not immediately welcomed with open arms. It is faintly ludicrous that the world No 2 and a proper needle-mover in golf has to hang around and audition for acceptance. The 34-year-old has connections across business and golf that should render a role for him a complete no-brainer. Yasir al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will take McIlroy’s call; a courtesy unlikely to given to others not named Tiger Woods.

The only assumption to be drawn from the needless delay is that there are those who are hardly impressed by McIlroy stepping back into prominence. The Northern Irishman has been candid about his desire for a global game, where the best play the best in all corners of the globe. If top-level golf was created today, this is precisely the model that would be followed. Yet for too long – and still now – people involved in the PGA Tour are obsessed only by the PGA Tour. It is an insular standpoint which, combined with Saudi riches, has left the organisation forced into a commercial partnership with a group of US-based sports owners to keep heads above water. Even with that agreement in place the PGA Tour’s medium-term outlook, with $20m events not nearly enough people care about, isn’t positive.

As the sport loses eyeballs, players have become overly empowered. Golfers would never ask commercial types to line up putts for them but seem to believe they are qualified to make business calls. This is the reason a group of directors did not instantly tick a box and return McIlroy to the fold. Among them is Patrick Cantlay. McIlroy has already been plain about the fact he and the world No 8 “see the world quite differently”. Which is fine. In fact, it is perhaps essential in a boardroom.

Nobody knows precisely what Cantlay wants because he has passed up countless opportunities to articulate it. At Sawgrass, immediately before he joined a trip to the Bahamas to meet Rumayyan, Cantlay was so vague in response to questions about his sport’s future that it was tricky to keep eyes open while listening. A day after McIlroy’s potential reappearance was reported, Cantlay was on the interview schedule at the Zurich Classic. By total coincidence, Cantlay’s practice schedule meant he was not able to appear for questioning.

Woods is intriguing in this situation. It is only fair to believe fellow professionals who state the 15-time major winner takes his board position seriously, despite this being an individual who has had others basically wiping his backside since he shot to worldwide fame. Woods had no previous requirement to study spreadsheets. Despite not being a board member at the time, Woods was upset at having no prior knowledge of the 6 June framework agreement announced between the PGA Tour and PIF. This resentment seems to have lingered. If anyone had cause for anger, it was McIlroy; he earlier did so much of the PGA Tour’s public bidding against LIV. Rather than sulk, McIlroy wants to be a force for greater good.

JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL pic.twitter.com/NefSbCQjAk — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2024

The bigger issue is that Woods’s entire legacy is wrapped up in the PGA Tour. He needs the PGA Tour, above or even at the cost of all else, to thrive and prosper. If the shape of elite golf changes it would only be natural for Woods to ponder how his achievements may be viewed decades from now. Like Cantlay, though, Woods has been hopelessly opaque when placed behind a microphone.

There are other reasons for McIlroy to be involved. If the PGA Tour wants to present itself as an upwardly mobile organisation, it surely cannot operate without European presence in its decision making. There is scepticism about the value of a strategic alliance between the PGA and DP World Tour; that is only enhanced by such a US-centric boardroom.

A conference call on Monday will determine the next step. Shunning McIlroy would represent an epic embarrassment. Whether the four-time major winner is back to front and centre, this must also be the trigger for others on the PGA Tour to finally display the courage of their convictions. Minus McIlroy, golf is sleepwalking.

• Rory McIlroy
• LIV Golf Series

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Zurich Classic of New Orleans

TPC Louisiana

Avondale, Louisiana • USA

Apr 25 - 28, 2024

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