PGA TOUR, European Tour to co-sanction 3 events next year
The two largest men's golf entities in the world continue to strengthen ties for the upcoming season amid the ongoing threat of the Saudi-backed Super Golf League.
The PGA TOUR and European Tour will co-sanction three tournaments in 2022. The Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship, and Barracuda Championship will count toward both the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai. All three events are scheduled for July. The Scottish Open will run concurrently with the Barbasol Championship.
In addition, the PGA TOUR will now hold only two World Golf Championship tournaments instead of four, reducing the series to just the HSBC Champions in China and the Dell Match Play event in Texas.
The European Tour will also increase the prize money for its Irish Open, nearly doubling the purse to $6 million next year.
In November, the two tours formed a "strategic alliance," in which PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan took a seat on the board of the European Tour. The PGA Tour also acquired a minority stake in the European Tour's production company as part of the agreement.
Here's the PGA TOUR's schedule for the upcoming campaign:
Full 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule: pic.twitter.com/YYfoNEgDIW
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 3, 2021
The PGA TOUR launched the WGC series in 1999. It had been comprised of four events since 2009.
The alliance between the two tours may be an attempt to ward off the Super Golf League, which reportedly offered hefty sums to several of the PGA TOUR's brightest stars, including Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka.
Last week, the PGA TOUR confirmed it wouldn't allow members to play in the Saudi International, an event the European Tour no longer sanctions.