PGA Tour players who fail to retain their full-time status for the 2024 season will be granted full membership to the DP World Tour next year.
It’s a potential lifeline for those who are battling for playing status throughout the FedEx Cup Fall, a seven-tournament circuit that followed the Tour Championship.
The top 50 after East Lake had their statuses secured for next year and cannot move up or down during the fall. Those who finish the fall ranked Nos. 51-60 will also retain their status and qualify for two signature events next year: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational.
The top 125 will be exempt into full-field events and The Players Championship, while Nos. 126-150 will earn Korn Ferry Tour status and conditional status on the PGA Tour next year.
They will also have additional playing opportunities on the European circuit, with up to five golfers who finished between Nos. 126-200 on the PGA Tour eligible to play in each tournament. PGA Tour players interested in DP World Tour membership will have until Dec. 20 to join.
“When we announced our Strategic Alliance with the PGA Tour in November 2021, one of the prime objectives was to give as many opportunities as possible to members of both tours, and this is another perfect example of how this is working,” David Howell, chairman of the DP World Tour’s tournament committee, said in Monday’s announcement.
It’s part of a 13-year agreement the tours made following the creation of LIV Golf. It also calls for the top 10 players who are not already exempt on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai list to earn PGA Tour membership for the following season.
“Our ‘Ten Cards’ initiative will give the opportunity for DP World Tour members to excel on the PGA Tour next season and this new membership opportunity announced today will give PGA Tour members the chance to do exactly the same on our tour,” DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley said Monday. “I am excited at the possibilities.”
Both tours have three events remaining. The FedEx Cup Fall has drawn some criticism from players including former major champion Jimmy Walker, who said that instead of properly planning his schedule at 44 years old, he is now grinding through the fall to retain his status.
Walker is among those hovering around the cutoff line as he is currently 129th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Other notables include those sitting between Nos. 121-125: Maverick McNealy, Chesson Hadley, Doug Ghim, C.T. Pan and Erik van Rooyen. Just below the cut is Zecheng Dou and Cameron Champ — a three-time winner on the PGA Tour whose most recent victory came in 2021. Champ has fallen to 242nd in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Also currently below the cut line are two-time PGA Tour winner Patton Kizzire (No. 130), Scott Piercy (134th), Aaron Wise (136th), Harry Higgs (137th) and former United States Ryder Cup star Ryan Moore (139th).
–Field Level Media
