What Is Happening On The DP World Tour?
In the coming months we're going to understand more about how the Strategic Alliance is really going to play out between the DP World and PGA Tours.
After the DP World Tour Championship in November the leading 10 players who aren't otherwise exempt will earn cards for the PGA Tour in 2024.
Now it has also been announced that those players who finish the PGA Tour season outside the top 125 on the FedExCup standings will be be able to play on the DP World Tour. The former European Tour will offer full membership to those who finish 126-200 in the final FedExCup points. Furthermore non-members can earn points with the chance of turning that into affiliate and then full membership.
Those who will fall into a new Category 12 must take up membership by November 22 and only five players can play out of that category per tournament.
Eddie Pepperell is a staunch member of the DP World Tour and he was speaking on The Chipping Forecast podcast this week and he can't see the benefit to his home tour of losing its 10 best players.
“I personally think it’s a disaster for the DP World Tour," said Pepperell. "I can’t think of any good business that tries to not retain its clients, just give the best ones away, that makes no sense to me. But from a player’s perspective who all have, frankly, ambitions to play at the biggest stage, which now clearly is the PGA Tour, it’s good for them.
“How long can both those be in existence, because to me it doesn’t seem sustainable that the Tour can continue to operate successfully while giving away its best players, but equally the players think it’s a good thing.
"It’s extremely formal now to the point where next year or the year after players are all going to be falling back into a very high category on the DP World Tour anyway so there really is no incentive next year for these guys to play any tournaments on the DP World Tour other than their minimum events, which I just can’t get my head around as a strategy commercially from the DP World Tour.”
A year or so ago there were very few details about the new alliance, now things are becoming a lot clearer. And the obvious kicker to the DP World Tour are the funds that will be coming in from the States.
“I guess it’s in return, frankly, from all the investment that the PGA Tour are making, and to be clear that is going to be well into the hundreds and hundreds of millions across a five-year period, so the PGA Tour clearly want to see some return, part of the return is getting some very good European players.”
Pepperell did add a cautionary note that the 10 players from the DP World Tour might struggle to get starts in the big events Stateside.
“They’re not going to get many, if any, of the elevated events, so it’s going to be an extremely difficult card, playing for reduced points as well to actually get into the top 70 the following season on the PGA Tour.”