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The PGA Tour sent a letter on Wednesday to their members which revealed a massive increase to prize money amongst other additions in order to compete with the LIV Tour. The average purse for each tournament is roughly $20 million along with a minimum salary of $500,000.
On top of the prize money increase, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan also announced that there is now a lifetime membership for players when they reach 20 wins. This has been a point many players in previous years have been pushing for, although Monahan said that he does not plan on allowing any players back to the PGA that left for the LIV.
Earners Insurance Program
The association also announced they will be implementing an earners insurance program for the 2023 season. This implements a $500,000 base salary for every fully exempt player with rookies being payed up front.
Player Impact Program
Along with the earners insurance program, the PGA will also be adding a player impact program. The player impact program is designed to reward the players who have the biggest positive impact on the tour. Introduced in 2021, Tiger Woods did not play in an event yet still won the inaugural PIP award due to his social media presence and public image.
The PIP compensates 20 players based off of metrics to find who drives the most fan and sponsor engagement. The purse has been doubled from 2021 from $50 million to $100 million.
New Initiatives
Four more events have been added additionally to the FedEx Cup on top of the already 20 events.
Monahan never addressed that these changes were made in response to the LIV Tour, although it is implied. The PGA Tour has responded nicely in an effort to fend off the LIV Tour.
With now nearly $500 million in prize money between all the events, along with a salary, it will be interesting how the players both on PGA and LIV Tour respond to this news.
