PREVIEW FOR THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AUGUST 10 TO AUGUST 27, 2023  

PREVIEW FOR THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AUGUST 10 TO AUGUST 27, 2023  

This series will determine the 2023 PGA Champion.  It consists of 70 players down from 125 last year.  There will be 3 weeks of competition on 3 different courses.  After the first week the field will be reduced to 50.  After week 2 it will be reduced to 30 and they will compete for the championship.     

Week 1 Aug 10 to 13 FedX St Jude Championship TPC Southward, Memphis TN. Last years winner Will Zalatoris defeated Sepp Straka on the 3rd playoff hole to win $2.7M. This years total purse is the same $20M with each of the 70 players getting a share.  Also 2000 FedX points goes to the winners of this weeks and next weeks tournaments effecting who will be in the top 10 for the final tournament in Atlanta.

Week 2 Aug 17 to 20 BMW Championship Olympia Fields C.C. Chicago IL.  Last years winner Patrick Cantlay repeated and is the first since the event started in 2016. Again a $20M purse with winner getting $2.7M and the remainder divided among 50 players. After this tournament FedX points will be tallied for #1 of the 30 remaining players who will be awarded handicap strokes based on the number of FedX points they have.

Week 3 East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta GAAt this tournament the lowest score combined with the players FedX starting strokes will be the champion and win $18M.   Players are given a handicap based on their # of FedX points. #1-10, #2-8, #3-7, #4-6, #5-5, #6/10-4, #11/15-3, #16/20-2, #21/25-1, #26/30 E.  Last year’s winner was Rory McIlroy who came back from 7 strokes down to defeat Scottie Scheffler.  He won $18M.  Scheffler finished 2nd which cost him about $12M.

If any of these 10 win 1 of the first 2 tournaments they would vault to #1. #49 Lucas Glover has 865 (2435).  If he wins he would move to #3.  Had he not won  The Wyndham he would not even be here.  He finished 3rd in last years St Jude and won $885K.  He advanced to the BMW but not the Tour Championship.

The PGA announced their 2024 schedule yesterday.  A few changes but nothing extreme except that there will be 8 Signature events (last year called designated) and some will not have a cut line.  Purse amounts were not disclosed.  Purse History and influences.

It goes without saying that the TV draw of Palmer & Nicklaus, the incredible play of Tiger, and the incentive money LIV offered had an incredible influence on professional Golf Purses.