The PGA Tour has confirmed details as to how it will divvy up an initial $930million in equity to players for the new for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises, with the top 36 players set to share in $750m of the grants.
Last week the Tour confirmed a deal with Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of American sports team owners that will pump $3bn into PGA Tour Enterprises - the new, for-profit wing of the Tour - now set to be valued at around $12bn.
Around $1.5bn of that initial funding was to set up a player equity program in part to allow players to own a piece of the Tour but also as a way of rewarding those players who turned down eyewatering fees to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Now, in a memo released to players on Wednesday, the Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan have begun to outline how an initial $930m in equity will be distributed, with players - current and past - divided into four distinct categories.
The lion's share of the grants - around $750m - will be given to the game's top 36 players based on “career performance, last five-year performance and Player Impact Programme results”.
Players such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are expected to be compensated heavily as part of this top-heavy approach which may cause some consternation from rank-and-file members who had previously complained about the fairness of the Player Impact Programme results, otherwise known as the PIP.
The second category is worth $75m and will be distributed to the next-best 64 players based on their performance over the last three years. $30m will then be granted to 57 additional players who “have earned certain fully-exempt PGA Tour status".
The final category looks set to focus on former players and greats of the game, with $75m granted to 36 players who were “instrumental in building the modern PGA Tour based on career performance".
Players are only able to qualify via one category for this initial grant, with the Tour hoping to roll out the equity programme in mid-March.
A further $600m from SSG's initial $1.5bn investment has been set aside for now but will go towards recurring player equity grants, a move to ensure future stars of the game are also financially compensated.
The memo suggested that such grants will be awarded in $100m totals starting in 2025 and going through to 2030. Such future grants will be based on "three-year performance, last year performance and Player Impact Program results".
