DP World Tour offers option to those who lose PGA Tour cards

PGA Tour players who finished outside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup rankings now have an exciting new opportunity: the European tour.

The DP World Tour is providing full membership to PGA Tour players who finish between positions 126 and 200 this year, with one important condition. In any given week, only five players who accept European tour membership can participate in a tournament.

This limitation ensures that European tour fields are not dominated by up to 75 PGA Tour players.

The European tour has created a new category specifically for PGA Tour players who take up their offer. Known as Category 12, it ranks higher than the top 20 players who advance from the Challenge Tour.

The PGA Tour is currently in its FedEx Cup Fall portion of the schedule, with three tournaments left. Among the players currently outside the top 125 are Jimmy Walker, Patton Kizzire, Scotland’s Russell Knox, and Jason Dufner.

Without this option, players outside the top 125 would typically try to secure spots in PGA Tour events with weaker fields or compete on the Korn Ferry Tour, where the top 30 players on the points list earn promotion to the PGA Tour.

This announcement, made on Monday, is part of the strategic alliance established last year. The top 10 players from the European tour, who are not already exempt, will earn PGA Tour cards for the 2024 season. Their priority will follow that of players finishing in the top 125.

European tour CEO Keith Pelley stated, “Our ‘Ten Cards’ initiative will provide DP World Tour members the opportunity to excel on the PGA Tour next season, and this new membership opportunity announced today will give PGA Tour members the chance to do exactly the same on our tour. I am excited about the possibilities.”

The European tour has also announced that affiliate membership will be available to any PGA Tour member during 2024. These members would be part of a nonmember points list that could enable them to qualify for the postseason if they participate in at least four events outside the majors.

PGA Tour players interested in accepting Europe’s offer must join by December 20. For those wishing to play in European tour co-sanctioned events in November and December, primarily in South Africa and Australia, the deadline to join is November 22.

The Qatar Masters is taking place this week on the European tour, followed by the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. The current top 10 players on the points list include Adrian Meronk, Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Robert MacIntyre, and Thorbjorn Olesen.