'Counterattack on LIV'... PGA Tour Opens on 15th with Prize Money Match

2022-2023 Season First Match on 15th in Napa, California, USA
Significantly Increased Prize Money and Diversified Paths to PGA Entry
Byeong-Hun An, Sung-Hoon Kang, Seong-Hyun Kim Declare Participation... 6 Korean-American Players Also Compete

2021 Fortinet Championship Winner Homa
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] The 2022-2023 season of the U.S. Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour opens on the 15th (local time) in Napa, California, USA. The PGA Tour will conduct the 2022-2023 season, consisting of a total of 47 tournaments, from this event through August 2023.

The Fortinet Championship (total prize money $8 million, approximately 10.988 billion KRW), held over four days starting on the 15th at Silverado Resort and Spa (par 72, 7,123 yards), is the first tournament to kick off the 2022-2023 season.

Significant Increase in Tournaments with $20 Million Prize Pools

In the 2022-2023 season, the prize money scale has increased significantly. In addition to the four major championships and the Players Championship, known as the 'fifth major,' the number of tournaments with total prize money of $20 million has increased.

Tournaments classified as 'top-tier' with prize money exceeding $20 million include the Sentry Champions Tournament, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, World Golf Championships (WGC) Dell Technologies Match Play, FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship, and Tour Championship?eight additional events. In the 2021-2022 season, the prize money for these tournaments ranged between $8.2 million and $15 million.

The increase in prize money is interpreted as a measure to prevent players from leaving for the LIV Golf Series Invitational, which is sponsored by Saudi Arabian capital.

Raised FedEx Cup Points Criteria and Diversified Paths to PGA Tour Entry

2021-2022 Season FedEx Cup Champion Rory McIlroy [Image Source=Yonhap News]

Along with this, the new season has significantly raised the FedEx Cup points ranking cutoff for advancing to the first round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs from 125th to 70th place.

The season system will change after this season from the 2023-2024 season to the 2024 season, and players ranked within the top 70 in the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup standings will earn eligibility to compete in the 2024 season.

The paths to entering the PGA Tour have also become more diverse.

The top five players from the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School, which is the second-tier tour, will advance directly to the PGA Tour, and the top 10 players in the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) points rankings will also receive PGA Tour eligibility for the next season. Additionally, the range for awarding PGA Tour cards based on Korn Ferry Tour points rankings has been expanded from the top 25 to the top 30.

Nine Korean Players Including Korean-Americans Ready to Compete

Ahn Byung-hoon [Image source=Yonhap News]

The season opener Fortinet Championship features last year's winner Max Homa (USA), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Ricky Fowler (USA), among others.

Korean players participating include Byeong-Hun An (31), Sung Kang (35), and Sung-Hyun Kim (24). Korean-American players such as Doug Kim, James Hahn, John Huh, Michael Kim, Justin Suh (all USA), and Danny Lee (New Zealand) are also listed among the competitors for the season opener.

The Presidents Cup, a team competition between the USA and the International team, will be held over four days starting on the 22nd in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, immediately following the season opener.

The CJ Cup, which was held in Jeju Island from 2017 to 2019, will take place from October 20 for four days in Richland, South Carolina, USA.

LIV Series Fifth Tournament Also Begins

Phil Mickelson [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the fifth tournament of the LIV Series will be held in Chicago, Illinois, USA, during the same period as the PGA Tour 2022-2023 season opener.

This tournament, with a total prize money of $25 million, features most of the 'big names' who left the PGA Tour to join the LIV Series, including Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, and Phil Mickelson (all USA).

The winner's prize for the PGA Tour Fortinet Championship is $1.44 million (approximately 1.98 billion KRW), while the LIV Series fifth tournament awards $4 million for the individual competition winner, and an additional $750,000 per person for the team competition winner.

The individual winner's prize in the LIV Series is 2.7 times that of the PGA Tour season opener. The LIV Series tournament duration is three days, one day shorter than the PGA Tour event.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.