By Ben Morse,
Tiger Woods plays a shot from the 11th TEE in the second round of US 2024 US Open in Pinehurst.
The PGA Tour announced Tuesday that it had created a special exemption for Tiger Woods, making it possible to qualify certain events on its calendar. A Sponsor Excellence exemption allows players with 80 or more PGA Tour victories to qualify for major events.
Woods is the only active player in this group with 82 career wins. As a 15-time major champion, he is tied with Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour wins. The PGA Tour said it was doing this to “recognize Tiger Woods in a category of his own.”
The change was approved after the PGA Tour’s Policy and Corporate Committees met in Hartford, Connecticut.
The PGA Tour’s eight “Signature Events” are the centerpiece tournaments on the Tour schedule and boast increased prize money and more FedEx Cup points up for grabs. FedExCup points are accumulated throughout the year, with the top 70 players qualifying for a playoff at the end of the season. Last year’s tournament had a total prize purse of $75 million, with the winner receiving $18 million. Eight “signature events” in the PGA Tour calendar are Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis Invitation Tournament and The Travelers Championship.
Woods previously won Arnold Palmer Invitational Eight times and a five -time commemorative tournament. But after suffering serious leg injuries in a car accident in 2021, Woods has not been able to play golf regularly throughout each season and therefore would not normally be eligible to participate in those events.
The 48-year-old has only played in four tournaments this year – the Genesis Invitational and the three majors. He withdrew from the second round of Genesis in February, finished 60th at the Masters and missed the cut for the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
Another change the PGA Tour announced Tuesday was that all “signature events” will have a minimum of 72 players.