The story
The roots of the modern PGA Tour stretch back to April 10, 1916, when the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) was formed. The modern tour recognizes wins from this era as "PGA Tour" victories despite the formal founding of the tour as a separate entity coming much later.
1910s
By 1916, several prestigious golf tournaments offering prize money to the winner had been established in North America, including the North and South Open, the Metropolitan Open, the Canadian Open, the Shawnee Open, the Western Open and the U.S. Open. They formed the initial schedule of what came to be known much later as the "PGA Tour", with the addition of the PGA Championship in 1916. The Open Championship in the UK, the oldest golf tournament in the world founded in 1860, would become a PGA Tour event much later in 1995. All Open Championship wins dating back to 1860 were retroactively recognized as PGA Tour victories in 2002.
1920s
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, various state open tournaments began, many organized by sections of the PGA. Tournaments recognized as PGA Tour wins from this era include the California Open, Connecticut Open, Florida Open, Maryland Open, Massachusetts Open, New Jersey State Open, New York State Open, Ohio Open, Oklahoma Open, Oregon Open, Pennsylvania Open Championship, Utah Open, Virginia Open and the Wisconsin State Open. This legacy lives on with the modern PGA Tour as the Valero Texas Open dates back to this era of state opens on the tour.
The tour, then known informally as "The Circuit" for professional golfers in the PGA, became more formalized in 1929. A tournament committee was formed, consisting of Tommy Armour, Al Espinosa and J.J. Patterson.
1930s
In 1930, Bob Harlow was hired as manager of the PGA Tournament Bureau and worked to formalize a year-round schedule of tournaments.
1940s
In 1945, Byron Nelson enjoyed a record-breaking year, winning 18 PGA tournaments out of the 30 he played, including 11 in a row that he played in. Both records are yet to be beaten. The Byron Nelson, which became the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer in 1968, is played annually near Dallas.
1950s
Throughout the 1950s, despite injuries from a car crash, star player Ben Hogan won 10 PGA Tour tournaments, including 6 major championships and three times at his hometown tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, the Colonial National Invitation. Younger working class player Arnold Palmer won 13 PGA Tour tournaments, becoming a crowd favorite and TV star including capturing his first Masters Tournament on CBS in 1958. Sam Snead was dominant on his way to a record-setting 82 PGA Tour career victories.
1960s
Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were the dominant players of the 1960s, with Palmer winning 43 titles and Nicklaus winning 30.
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With an increase of revenue in the late 1960s due to expanded television coverage, a dispute arose between the touring professionals and the PGA of America on how to distribute the windfall. The tour players wanted larger purses, where the PGA desired the money to go to the general fund to help grow the game at the local level. Following the final major in July 1968 at the PGA Championship, several leading tour pros voiced their dissatisfaction with the venue and the abundance of club pros in the field. The increased friction resulted in a new entity in August, what would eventually become the PGA Tour. Tournament players formed their own organization, American Professional Golfers, Inc. (APG), independent of the PGA of America. Its headquarters were in New York City.
After several months, a compromise was reached in December: the tour players agreed to abolish the APG and form the PGA "Tournament Players Division", a fully autonomous division under the supervision of a new 10-member Tournament Policy Board. The board consisted of four tour players, three PGA of America executives, and three outside members, initially business executives.
Joseph Dey, the recently retired USGA executive director, was selected by the board as the tour's first commissioner in January 1969 and agreed to a five-year contract. He was succeeded by tour player Deane Beman in early 1974, who served for twenty years.
1970s
Jack Nicklaus continued his dominance, winning 38 titles.
The tour's name officially changed to the "PGA Tour" in 1975. In 1978 the PGA Tour "removed its restriction on women." However, no women have joined the tour since this date.
Without the tour players, the PGA of America became primarily an association of club professionals, but retained control of two significant events; the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. The former was an established major championship, but the latter was an obscure match play team event which was not particularly popular with golf fans, due to predictable dominance by the United States. With the addition of players from continental Europe in 1979 and expanded television coverage, it became very competitive and evolved into the premier international team event, lately dominated by Europe. Both events are very important revenue streams for the PGA of America.
The Players Championship, the tour's flagship event, was introduced in 1974.
1980s
In late August 1981, the PGA Tour had a marketing dispute with the PGA of America and officially changed its name to the TPA Tour, for the "Tournament Players Association". The disputed issues were resolved within seven months and the tour's name was changed back to the "PGA Tour" in March 1982.
The Official World Golf Ranking was introduced in 1986, with the PGA Tour competing with the European Tour for the top golfers, including the world number one.
The Tour Championship was introduced in 1987.
1990s
Tim Finchem became the third commissioner in June 1994 and continued for over 22 years; on January 1, 2017, he was succeeded by Jay Monahan.
As Tiger Woods emerged as a dominant player, TV ratings and revenues soared for the tour.
In 1999, the tour began play of the World Golf Championships.
2000s
Tiger Woods continued his dominance of the tour in the 2000s, winning 57 of his 82 career titles.
Three of the four majors had settled into a pattern of play in eight weeks between June and August. In the past, this had threatened to make the last 2+1⁄2 months of the season anticlimactic, as some of the very top players competed less from that point on. In response, the PGA Tour introduced a new format in 2007, the FedEx Cup. From January through mid-August players competed in "regular season" events and earn FedEx Cup points, in addition to prize money. At the end of the regular season, the top 125 FedEx Cup points winners are eligible to compete in the "playoffs", four events taking place from mid-August to mid-September. The field sizes for these events are reduced from 125 to 100 to 70 and finally the traditional 30 for the Tour Championship. Additional FedEx Cup points are earned in these events. At the end of the championship, the top point winner is the season champion. To put this new system into place, the PGA Tour has made significant changes to the traditional schedule.
In 2007, The Players Championship moved to May so as to have a marquee event in five consecutive months. The Tour Championship moved to mid-September, with an international team event (Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup) following at the end of September. The schedule was tweaked slightly in both 2008 and 2009. After the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship, the Tour takes a full week off. In 2008, the break came before the Ryder Cup, with the Tour Championship the week after that. In 2009, the break was followed by the Tour Championship, with the Presidents Cup taking place two weeks after that.
2007 saw the introduction of a tournament in Mexico, an alternate event staged the same week as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. A tournament in Puerto Rico was introduced in 2008 as an alternate event staged opposite the WGC-CA Championship.
The Tour continues through the fall, with the focus on the scramble of the less successful players to earn enough money to retain their tour cards. A circuit known as the Fall Series, originally with seven tournaments but now with four, was introduced in 2007. In its inaugural year, its events were held in seven consecutive weeks, starting the week after the Tour Championship. As was the case for the FedEx Cup playoff schedule, the Fall Series schedule was also tweaked in 2008 and 2009. The first 2008 Fall Series event was held opposite the Ryder Cup, and the Fall Series took a week off for the Tour Championship before continuing with its remaining six events.
In 2008, the PGA Tour Policy Board approved a change in the number of players that will make the cut. The cut will continue to be low 70 professionals and ties, unless that results in a post-cut field of more than 78 players. Under that circumstance, the cut score will be selected to make a field as close to 70 players as possible without exceeding 78. Players who are cut in such circumstances but who have placed 70th or worse will get credit for making the cut and will earn official money and FedEx Cup points. This policy affected two of the first three events with cuts, the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Buick Invitational. In late February, the Policy Board announced a revised cut policy, effective beginning with the Honda Classic. The new policy calls for 36-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties and, if that cut results in more than 78 players, a second 54-hole cut to the low 70 professionals and ties. Those who do not survive the 54-hole cut were designated as MDF (made the cut, did not finish). For the 2020 season, the cut line was reduced to 65 plus ties and eliminated the 54-hole cut.
The Fall Series saw major changes for 2009, with one of its events moving to May and another dropping off the schedule entirely. It returned to its original start date of the week after the Tour Championship. Then, as in 2008, it took a week off, this time for the Presidents Cup. It then continued with events in three consecutive weeks, took another week off for the HSBC Champions (now elevated to World Golf Championships status), and concluded the week after that.
2010s
The Fall Series was reduced to four events, all held after the Tour Championship, for 2011. This followed the move of the Viking Classic into the regular season as an alternate event.
The 2013 season, which was the last before the tour transitioned to a schedule spanning two calendar years, had 40 official-money events in 38 weeks, including three alternate events played the same week as a higher-status tournament. The other event that is considered part of the 2013 season is the biennial Presidents Cup, matching a team of golfers representing the US with an "International" team consisting of non-European players (Europeans instead play in the Ryder Cup, held in even-numbered years).
Before the transition, the Tour held a group of events known as the PGA Tour Fall Series, which provided a final opportunity for golfers to make the top 125 in season earnings and thereby retain their Tour cards. With the change to an October-to-September season, several of the former Fall Series events will now open the season. The Tour also sanctions two events in Asia during that part of the year:
The CIMB Classic, a limited-field event held in Malaysia and the Tour's first sanctioned event in Southeast Asia. The field is limited to 40 players—the top-25 available players in the final FedEx Cup standings, the top ten available Asian players and five sponsor's exemptions, with at least one place reserved for a Malaysian player. The 2013 edition, which was part of the 2014 season, was the first as an official-money event.
The WGC-HSBC Champions, traditionally held the week after the Malaysia tournament. Despite its elevation to World Golf Championships status in 2009, it initially was not an official-money event. Starting in 2010, if the event was won by a PGA Tour member, it counted as an official win and carried the three-year exemption of the other WGCs. Starting in 2013, the HSBC Champions became an official money event, and wins are official for Tour and non-Tour members alike.
On March 20, 2012, the tour announced radical changes to the tour's season and qualifying process. Further details of these changes relating to the Fall Series were announced on June 26, with the remaining details announced on July 10. One of the final details received a minor tweak, effective for the 2013 season only, on September 11.
First, the 2013 season was the last to be conducted entirely within a calendar year. Since the 2014 season, the season starts in October of the previous calendar year, shortly after the Tour Championship. The tournaments in the now season-opening Fall Series are awarded full FedEx Cup points.
As a result of the schedule change, the qualifying school no longer grants playing rights on the PGA Tour, but only privileges on the Korn Ferry Tour.
The criterion for retaining tour cards at the end of the season also changed. Through 2012, the top 125 players on the money list at the end of the PGA Tour season retained their tour cards. For the 2013 season only, the top 125 players on both the money list and the FedEx Cup points list at the end of the FedEx Cup regular season in August retained their cards. The tour also said that it would decide at a later time whether to keep this aspect of the qualifying system in place in future seasons.
Otherwise, the planned move by the tour to have the top 125 players on the FedEx Cup points list retain their tour cards took effect with the 2014 season. The next 75 players on the points list, along with the top 75 on the money list of the Korn Ferry Tour at the end of that tour's regular season, are eligible to play a series of three tournaments in September known as the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. The Finals field, however, is not expected to consist of all 150 players, as some of the PGA Tour players will be exempt by other criteria, such as a tournament win in the previous two years. A total of 50 PGA Tour cards for the next season is awarded at the end of the Finals.
The 25 leading money winners during the Korn Ferry Tour regular season receive cards, and total money earned during the Finals determines the remaining 25 card earners. For all 50 new card earners, their positions on the PGA Tour's priority order for purposes of tournament are based on money earned in the Finals. College players who turn professional can enter the series if their earnings are equivalent to a top-200 PGA Tour or top-75 Korn Ferry Tour finish.
In addition, the leading money winners on the Korn Ferry Tour in both the regular season and Finals receive automatic invitations to The Players Championship (note that if a golfer tops both money lists, only one Players invitation is awarded).
Finally, two events held in Asia after the end of the PGA Tour's current regular season – the CIMB Classic in Malaysia and the HSBC Champions, a World Golf Championships event held in China – became full PGA Tour events, with official prize money, for the first time. Before 2013, neither event had full PGA Tour status despite being sanctioned by the Tour. Wins in the CIMB Classic were not classified as official PGA Tour wins, and HSBC Champions victories were official wins only for current PGA Tour members. Money earned in these events did not count as official PGA Tour earnings for any purpose.
2020s
In June 2022, the PGA Tour suspended 17 players who played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event. Monahan wrote in a memo to the tour's membership that any players who take part in future LIV Golf events will be subjected to the same punishment. PGA Tour members who joined LIV Golf included major champions Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson.
In July 2022, it was reported that the US Department of Justice was investigating the PGA Tour to determine if it engaged in anti-competitive behavior with LIV Golf. In late 2021, the PGA Tour had begun speaking with White House officials and members of Congress to express concerns over LIV Golf. The tour paid over $400,000 to the firm DLA Piper to lobby lawmakers on their behalf for various topics including LIV Golf proposals. The tour had previously been investigated in the early 1990s, but despite tour policies having been found to be in violation of antitrust laws, no further action was taken.
In August 2022, 11 players who had joined LIV Golf filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour to challenge their suspensions. Three players failed to obtain a temporary restraining order to allow them to participate in the FedEx Cup playoffs. The trial for the main case was scheduled to begin in September 2023.
On June 6, 2023, the PGA Tour, PGA European Tour, and LIV Golf announced that they would enter into an agreement to merge their commercial rights into a single, for-profit entity. The Saudi Public Investment Fund—which funded LIV Golf—will initially serve as the "exclusive investor" in the entity and have right of first refusal for future investments, while the PGA Tour will appoint the majority of its board members and have its commissioner Jay Monahan act as CEO. The agreement does not impact the three entities' administrative oversight over their events, hence the PGA Tour as a sanctioning entity will remain a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. The agreement ends all pending litigation between the organizations, and there are plans for a "fair and objective" process to readmit players blacklisted by the PGA Tour for defecting to LIV.
The announcement was met with shock from players, who did not learn of the agreement until it was officially announced, with media outlets describing them as having felt "betrayed" by the decision.
The deadline for completing the deal was December 31, 2023, although it was reported that the parties were attempting to negotiate an extension. Concurrently, the PGA Tour was negotiating with another investor, Strategic Sports Group, which is a consortium of professional sports owners—including Tom Werner, Arthur Blank, Steve Cohen, Wyc Grousbeck, Thomas S. Ricketts, and others—led by Fenway Sports Group. On January 31, 2024, the PGA Tour announced that it had agreed to a $3 billion investment by Strategic Sports Group into its for-profit arm, PGA Tour Enterprises. The consortium will pay $1.5 billion initially, and then a second $1.5 billion following the conclusion of negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund. In addition, active players will be given an opportunity to receive grants of equity in PGA Tour Enterprises.
In June 2025, NFL executive Brian Rolapp was announced as the next CEO effective 2026.
In August 2025, Tiger Woods was appointed chair of the PGA Tour's newly created Future Competition Committee, which was established to review and propose reforms to the Tour's competition model.
In November 2025, the PGA Tour announced that any players who played for the LIV Golf Promotions event would not be granted conflicting events or media releases for tournaments in North America, and could be sanctioned or subjected to a one-year ban from PGA Tour events.
In January 2026, the PGA Tour announced its limited time Returning Member's Program. This program will allow select former tour members who had been previously banned from the PGA Tour after competing in LIV Golf events to reenter the Tour. As this announcement was made, 9-time PGA Tour winner Brooks Koepka announced that he would be returning to the PGA Tour through this program, making him the first player to do so.
From Wikipedia’s article on PGA Tour, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5