The PGA Tour is desperate to keep the players, and you’ll know why soon enough. LIV Golf’s team format brings a fresh sense of camaraderie that really clicks with younger and international players. Unlike the PGA Tour’s solo grind, LIV’s team setup builds rivalries, storylines, and branding opportunities the Tour just doesn’t offer right now.

The new Signature Events and segmented schedule seem to squeeze top players, pushing them to skip traditional tournaments and leading to burnout as they juggle a packed, high-stakes calendar. Then, LIV is aggressively targeting international markets—Australia, Asia, the Middle East—with massive events and localized marketing, whereas the PGA Tour remains U.S.-centric.

So, faced with LIV Golf’s lucrative threat, which has been luring top talent with hefty paychecks since its 2022 launch, the PGA Tour has introduced Signature Events boasting $20 million purses to retain its top stars. This strategic move directly counters LIV’s financial allure, offering not only increased purses but also enhanced FedExCup points and a premier platform to showcase talent, all in an effort to keep the best players from defecting to the rival league, or so the tour thought.

Speaking on the latest YouTube episode of Golf’s Subpar, hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz discussed how the PGA Tour’s attempt to compete with LIV Golf is affecting other events. “I thought them not only playing but winning last year might be the catalyst for more big-name guys,” Knost said, referring to the Zurich Classic, where the leaderboard wasn’t “loaded with stars come Sunday afternoon”, as top names like Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth had decided not to play. The hosts believe that the signature events are hurting other tournaments, as top players prioritize those events and majors.

“It’s almost two schedules at this point,” Knost noted. “If you’re a signature event guy, you play that schedule, and you probably sprinkle in a couple of non-signatures here and there.” The hosts wish the schedule could be tweaked to allow for more flexibility, saying, “I really like New Orleans, it’s just a nice change of pace from the monotonous grind on the PGA Tour.” They added, “Events like the Zurich and the Byron Nelson just get screwed because of it.”

Well, it is somewhat true that top golfers are opting out of smaller events to focus on bigger ones, and a recent example was seen in the $19.1M CJ Cup Byron Nelson lineup. Notable players like Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Viktor Hovland have chosen to skip the event, prioritizing other tournaments that might offer more prestige, better preparation for majors, or simply a well-deserved break.

But the concern is still there. Even though the efforts to keep players from defecting to the Saudi circuit are failing, the Tour is not backing down.

PGA Tour U Program overhauled to retain young talent

The PGA Tour is introducing significant changes to its PGA Tour U program to prevent young golfers from defecting to LIV Golf. According to a tweet by Monday Q Info, the top 10 players in the PGA Tour U rankings at the end of the college season will now receive exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour, up from the previous 5 exempt and 5 conditional spots. This move aims to provide more opportunities for young players to develop their skills and stay within the PGA Tour ecosystem.

The PGA Tour is also overhauling the accelerated points system, which allows players to earn PGA Tour membership by accumulating 20 points. Starting in 2025, additional ways to earn points will be introduced, and in 2026, players who surpass 1300 points but don’t finish first in the rankings will still receive the same benefits as the number one player, including PGA Tour status. These changes are designed to create a more appealing path for young players and keep them from being lured away by LIV Golf.

The PGA Tour’s efforts to retain young talent come amid the growing influence of LIV Golf, which has already attracted some notable players. The recent signing of 18-year-old Korean phenom Yubin Jang to LIV’s Ironheads team highlights the challenge the PGA Tour faces in keeping its young stars. While some may view the PGA Tour’s changes as “hand-picking” players, the ultimate goal is to protect and nurture young talent within the Tour’s fold. So, do you think the Tour will be successful? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!