A Guide to the PGA Tour

Huynh NguyenNovember 23, 2022

Although the majors and the Ryder Cup represent the pinnacle of men’s golf and winning those titles will be the peak of most of young golfer’s ambitions, it’s on the PGA Tour where the world’s top golfers will be competing week in, week out. It is the most prestigious men’s golf tour in the world, and although it predominantly encompasses North America, it also sanctions or co-sanctions events in Asia and the United Kingdom. For example, the 2023 PGA Tour schedule includes the ZOZO Championship, held in Japan, and the Genesis Scottish Open. If you’re looking to find golf tickets 2023, you can do so at Koobit.com.

The PGA Tour can trace its origins as far back as 1916, although the sport itself is much older than that. Golf’s exact origins are difficult to pinpoint, but games resembling it were first played in medieval times. These games developed into the sport in Scotland during the 15^th century, and the Old Course at St. Andrews – considered the world’s oldest golf course – was established in 1552. Golf became more formalised in the 18^th century following the formation of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in 1754.

By the early 20^th century, golf had spread around the world and was becoming increasingly popular in the United States. The Professional Golfers’ Association of America was founded on 10 April 1916, and although the PGA Tour was not formally founded as a separate entity in its own right until much later, wins from this period are recognised as Tour victories. In 1929, the disparate existing tournaments around the country were formalised into a year-round schedule, and the Tour – known at the time as “The Circuit” – was born. The PGA Tour name would follow in 1975, the Tour having become a separate entity from the PGA of America 7 years prior, when the professional players split from the organisation amid a dispute over revenue as the sport’s increasing popularity led to more television coverage.

Today, the Tour season is comprised of more than 40 events and more than $415 million in total prize money. Although some golfers also split their time with the DP World Tour (formerly known as the European Tour) or the Asian Tour, and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf has also emerged as a rival entity in 2022, the PGA Tour is regarded as the most premier golf tour in the world with the highest concentration of the planet’s best players, from Tiger Woods to Rory McIlroy.

The season typically runs from September or October through to the following August, with an event almost every weekend. Although there are a few exceptions, the majority of these events are held in the standard stroke play format, in which the player with the lowest number of total strokes over the course of 4 rounds is crowned the winner, with a play-off held in the event of 2 or more players tying for first place at the end. Among the highlights of the PGA Tour season are the Waste Management Phoenix Open – which is the most well-attended event in all of golf – and the Players Championship, also known as golf’s unofficial “5th major.”

Although each event is separate with its own prize purse, players also earn FedEx Cup points for competing on the Tour. Most events reward 500 points to the winner, although some smaller tournaments offer 300 while some of the Tour’s premier events offer 550, and the majors offer 600. The season ends with the FedEx Cup play-offs, 3 consecutive tournaments at culminating in the Tour Championship, where the FedEx Cup champion is crowned. Only the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup points list qualify for the first of these events, with only the top 70 advancing to the 2^nd and finally the top 30 in the Tour Championship.

The first 2 play-off events, the FedEx St. Jude Championship and the BMW Championship, offer an incredible 2,000 points to the winners. This can have a big impact on the standings for the final 30 who progress to the Tour Championship. While that event is conducted in the stroke play format as normal, there’s a twist – players start with a score reflecting their position in the rankings, so that the top performers are rewarded with an advantage. The starting scores are as follows:

Player No. 1 – 10-under par
Player No. 2 – 8-under
Player No. 3 – 7-under
Player No. 4 – 6-under
Player No. 5 – 5-under
Player No. 6-10 – 4-under
Player No. 11-15 – 3-under
Player No. 15-20 – 2-under
Player No. 21-25 – 1-under
Player No. 26-30 – even par

The reigning FedEx Cup champion is Rory McIlroy, who won it for the 3^rd time in 2022, collecting an £18 million bonus for doing so. That bonus comes from a £75 million purse bonus pool for the FedEx Cup overall, and the prize money on offer for the top 30 is particularly lucrative, with even the last-placed player taking home $500,000!

While there may be a hot (and rich) new kid on the block in the form of LIV Golf, the PGA Tour still reigns supreme over its rivals with its selection of top-class events held at iconic courses each year.