CROMWELL, Conn. — PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan met with the media at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday and revealed that the Vacationers Championship will obtain Signature Occasion standing once more in 2025.
These tournaments function elevated purses and restricted area sizes, hovering round 70 gamers. This yr’s Vacationers Championship marks the eighth and ultimate Signature Occasion of the 2024 season.
“This occasion will probably be a Signature Occasion in 2025,” Monahan mentioned. “That is the 18th yr with Vacationers, and we’ve got an settlement; they’re in a 10-year settlement via 2030.”
Vacationers first sponsored this event in 2007, when Hunter Mahan received his first occasion on the PGA Tour. Since then, it has change into a fan favourite amongst tour execs, who cite the golf course and hospitality as the reason why.
“It’s good to be again. I really feel like that is all the time a enjoyable event to come back play,” mentioned World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler on Wednesday.
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“The group actually rallies across the event. The followers are all the time large. The golf course is often all the time in nice form. The clubhouse. The best way the event treats us as gamers is all the time large. So it’s a very simple, enjoyable week for us to come back play, and glad to be again right here.”
Caddies even obtain courtesy automobiles this week, a rarity on the PGA Tour. However that’s not all. The highest gamers on the PGA Tour obtain loads of different facilities.
“They do such a tremendous job for us, our caddies, and our assist group,” added Xander Schauffele.
“In case you have a look at the vary, it’s acquired the little umbrellas, we’ve got a espresso stand, a lounging space, there’s the inexperienced truck there with the pizza. So it’s such a calming week coming after the U.S. Open and I believe all of us actually admire that.”
With this in thoughts, the Signature Occasion mannequin—new for 2024—has drawn loads of criticism. In March, Lucas Glover known as these tournaments a “cash seize,” including that he “doesn’t like the concept in any respect.”
“Why do the signature occasions have [a maximum of] 80 gamers, and solely 50 make the lower? Our largest signature occasion subsequent week is 144 gamers with a full lower. The signature occasion,” Glover mentioned in March, referencing The Gamers Championship.
“I simply don’t see what was so unhealthy out right here that we needed to do all this. Let’s increase some purses to ensure we hold some guys round, however now we’ve eradicated numerous taking part in alternatives for some actually good gamers.”
Monahan acknowledges this too, as many gamers, equivalent to Min Woo Lee, who has had a robust 2024 season, didn’t qualify for the Vacationers this week, regardless that Rory McIlroy withdrew.
“Nothing’s good, nothing ever is, however whenever you have a look at the place we’re immediately and as we shared with our board [on Tuesday], we really feel like we’re delivering to our followers precisely what we got down to do, and that’s to get our prime gamers competing collectively extra typically, and to create essentially the most aggressive schedule we will presumably create,” Monahan mentioned concerning the Signature Occasions.
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“Whenever you have a look at our full-field occasions, and also you have a look at the energy of the sphere, whether or not it’s prime 50 or prime 125, our energy of the sphere at full-field occasions is up 35 %.”
The Signature Occasions have undoubtedly supplied alternatives for the very best gamers to compete towards each other. Look no additional than who has received the seven Signature Occasions this season: Scheffler has received three. Wyndham Clark triumphed at Pebble Seaside with a record-breaking 60. Hideki Matsuyama shot 61 at Riviera to come back from behind and steal the Genesis Invitational, after which Rory McIlroy received the Wells Fargo Championship. Chris Kirk additionally received The Sentry, the primary event of the yr. That’s a fairly robust whos-who of the PGA Tour.
Plus, these wins got here towards very robust fields. The highest 50 gamers from final yr’s FedEx Cup standings gained entry into every of those tournaments in 2024. Then, the PGA Tour established the Aon Subsequent 10 and Aon Swing 5 to assist spherical out these limited-field occasions. Whoever wins an occasion on the PGA Tour in 2024 additionally positive aspects entry, whereas every event has sponsor exemptions they use to spherical out the sphere. These exemptions have been drastically scrutinized, as PGA Tour Coverage Board members appear to take a justifiable share of these. Look no additional than Webb Simpson, who once more acquired an exemption to play this week.
Nonetheless, this event all the time delivers. Gamers sometimes go low on this golf course, as TPC River Highlands, the shortest course on tour, yields loads of birdies. It additionally produces nice drama, because the event has had six playoffs since 2007. One stroke has determined the consequence six different instances, too.
So, contemplating all of this, it is smart for the tour to make the Vacationers Championship a Signature Occasion in 2025, regardless of among the criticism the general mannequin has acquired.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in Via. You’ll want to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
