Fall Tour winners get Masters invitation, Tournament of Champions spot under new schedule
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More details about the PGA Tour’s 2023 schedule after the Tour Championship and beyond to 2024 were revealed in a memo to players obtained by the Associated Press.
The good news: winning the fall events, primarily a play-in series to keep their PGA Tour status and qualify for the new "Designated Events," will also get players into the Masters, the Sentry Tournament of Champions and give them a head start in qualifying for the first two designated events of the 2024 season, believed to be Pebble Beach and Riviera.
That includes the RSM Classic at the Sea Island Club on St. Simons Island, Ga., which is likely to keep its date the third week of November. When the Tour announced it was going back to a calendar-year schedule, there was no initial guarantee that the fall events would earn Masters invites.
According to the memo, they will.
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The Tour previously announced that the top 70 on the FedEx Cup standings advance to the playoffs. The top 50 who get to the second leg, the BMW Championship, are eligible for all eight designated events in 2024.
The FedEx Cup points list will continue through the fall for players who fell below No. 50. Those in the top 125 through the RSM Classic will keep their Tour status for the next year.
Players who begin the 2024 season outside the top 50 also can qualify for the next designated event on their performance in full-field tournaments between them.
All Tour winners (except for events opposite a major or designated event) are eligible for the remaining designated events that season.
The FedEx Cup points for winning a major or The Players Championship will be 750. Designated events victories will be worth 700 points and other full-field events will be 500 points (with 300 for opposite-field events).
Tour remains in Mexico
The Tour this week announced it will continue playing in Mexico in the fall.
And it will welcome a Tiger Woods-designed course to the PGA Tour.
The Tour and World Wide Technology announced on Tuesday that the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship will be played on the El Cardonal Course, at Diamante Cabo San Lucas in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. The tournament had been at the Mayakoba Resort since 2007.
Woods, through his TGR Design company, created El Cardonal in 2014.
The field of 132 will compete in the fall FedEx Cup race, which will determine top-125 eligibility for the 2024 season. The Tour hasn't released its 2023 fall schedule yet but the tournament website is listing the dates as Nov. 2-5.
El Cardonal is influenced by the Southern California courses Woods grew up playing. The par-72, 7,300-yard layout features dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean and provides players with multiple options on each hold.
Diamante is a private resort nestled along the coastline of Los Cabos, a municipality at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula in the state of Baja California Sur. In addition to El Cardonal, Diamante also features the Dunes Course, designed by Davis Love III, as well as the TGR-designed Oasis Short Course, a 12-hole, par-3 course.
All four rounds of the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship will be carried live on Golf Channel in the United States and Latin America, including Mexico.
All-star collaboration
Michael Jordan has his own golf course, Grove XXIII in south Florida.
Now, three-time American League MVP Mike Trout will have his own, designed by Woods.
Trout, the 10-time All-Star centerfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, and a business partner in New Jersey are building a golf club called “Trout National — The Reserve” not far from where Trout grew up in southern New Jersey.
They have hired TGR Design, to create the 18-hole course, a practice range and short-game area.
“I love south Jersey and I love golf, so creating Trout National — The Reserve is a dream come true,” Trout said. "And then to add to that we’ll have a golf course designed by Tiger? It’s just incredible to think that this project has grown to where we’re going to be working with someone many consider the greatest and most influential golfer of all time.”
Construction is set to begin this year with plans for the private club about 45 minutes south of Philadelphia to open for member play in 2025.
“I’ve always enjoyed watching Mike on the diamond so when the opportunity arose to work with him on Trout National — The Reserve, I couldn’t pass it up,” Woods said in a statement. “It’s a great site for golf and our team’s looking forward to creating a special course.”
Kuchar ties Woods
When Matt Kuchar beat Si Woo Kim 7 and 6 to win his pool in the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play last week, he earned his 36th victory in the history of the tournament, tying Tiger Woods.
“I still find it hard to comprehend that I'm saying that, that I tied one of his records,” said the former St. Simons Island, Ga., resident, who is planning on a move to Jupiter. “So I'm hugely proud, please. There's 300 more records, I'm sure, to go. But it's a fun one to be able say you've got something you tied Tiger with.”
Kuchar lost his chance to break the tie with Woods in the round of 16 when he lost to Jason Day 1-up.
PGA TOUR
Event: Valero Texas Open, Thursday-Sunday, TPC San Antonio, Oaks Course.
At stake: $8.9 million purse ($1,602,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner).
Defending champion: J.J. Spaun.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m.); NBC (Saturday, 3:30-6 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Lanto Griffin, Patton Kizzire, Russell Knox, David Lingmerth, Davis Love III, Doc Redman, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg, Davis Thompson, Michael Thompson, Carl Yuan.
Notable: This is the final tournament players can win to get into next week’s Masters. … In addition to Love, Padraig Harrington comes off the PGA Tour Champions to play this week. … Spaun shot 69-69 on the weekend and beat Matt Kuchar and Matt Jones by two shots.
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
Event: LIV Golf Orlando, Friday-Sunday, Orange County National, Orlando.
At stake: $25 million purse ($4 million to the individual winner, $3 million to the winning team).
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: CW (Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m.).
Area players entered: Cameron Smith.
Notable: LIV is in Florida for the first time this season, and the first time since playing at Doral to close the 2022 season. … Danny Lee (Tucson) and Charles Howell III (Mexico) won the first two individual events.
LPGA TOUR
Event: Dio Implant L.A. Open, Thursday-Sunday, Palos Verdes Golf Club, Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.
At stake: $1.75 million purse ($262,500 to the winner).
Defending champion: Nasa Hataoka.
TV: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 7-9:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m.).
Area players entered: Chella Choi, Mel Reid.
Notable: Hataoka won her sixth LPGA title by recording four rounds in the 60s on the way to a five-shot victory over Hannah Green.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Event: Astra Chile Classic, Thursday-Sunday, Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago, Chile.
At stake: $1 million purse ($180,000 to the winner).
Defending champion: First-year event.
TV: None.
Area players entered: Chris Baker, A.J. Crouch, Taylor Dickson, Rick Lamb, Jared Wolfe.
Notable: The Korn Ferry Tour returns to Chile for the first time since 2015.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: PGA Tour's Fall events will earn a Masters invite for the winner
