PGA Tour 2024 schedule: Signature Events get major $4 million facelift, no-cut fields

The PGA Tour announced its 2024 schedule Monday, as golf fans will see massive changes next season.

As a part of the 31-week schedule, there will be eight “Signature Events,” re-named from the “Designated Events” implemented during the 2022-23 season.

These Signature Events will feature limited-field tournaments, roughly 70-to-80 players. Increased prize money will be available, and 700 FedEx Cup points will go to the winner. Five of these eight tournaments will not feature a 36-hole cut.

They are listed below, with an asterisk indicating a non-cut event:

1. The Sentry, Plantation Course at Kapalua (Jan. 4-7)*

2. AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Pebble Beach Golf Links (Feb. 1-4)*

3. The Genesis Invitational, Riviera Country Club (Feb. 15-18)

4. Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill Club & Lodge (Mar. 7-10)

5. RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links (Apr. 18-21)*

6. Wells Fargo Championship, Quail Hollow Country Club (May 6-12)*

7. The Memorial Tournament, Muirfield Village Golf Club (Jun. 3-9)

8. Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands (Jun. 17-23)*

The player-hosted invitationals, The Genesis Invitational hosted by Tiger Woods; The Arnold Palmer Invitational; and the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus, will feature 70-to-80 players and have a 36-hole cut. These three tournaments will also see a redistribution of prize money, allocating 20 percent to the winner ($4 million), up from 18 percent.

After Friday’s round, the top 50 players will make the weekend at these three events. A 10-shot rule will also be implemented.

The Sentry at Kapalua, the opening tournament of the year, will feature PGA Tour winners from the previous calendar year and those 50 players that qualify for the 2023 BMW Championship, the second event in the FedExCup Playoffs.

From that point forward, tour officials have created “Next 10” and “Swing 5,” allowing players who move up the FedEx Cup standings to qualify for the other seven Signature Events. Those that qualify for the BMW Championship and the other 15 members from the Next 10 and Swing 5 will comprise the remaining seven fields.

“The Next 10 represents the top 10 members, not otherwise exempt, from the FedExCup standings,” per the PGA Tour’s release. “The Swing 5 includes the top five FedExCup points earners, not otherwise exempt, from the swing of full-field and additional events preceding each Signature Event.”

The PGA Tour also provided a timeline for the Next 10 and the Swing 5 for the seven Signature Events outside The Sentry.

It shifts every month, meaning players will have the opportunity to jump into and fall out of the seven remaining Signature Events.

For instance, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Next 10 include those players who finished in the top 10 of the final 2023 FedExCup Fall standings. The Swing 5 will be the top five FedExCup points earners not otherwise exempt from the Sony Open in Hawaii, The American Express, and the Farmers Insurance Open, the three tournaments immediately before the tour returns to Pebble Beach.

Two weeks later, for the Genesis Invitational, a similar formula applies to the one used for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The only difference is that the Waste Management Phoenix Open is included for calculating the Swing 5.

The tour then shifts to Florida in March, where the Arnold Palmer Invitational highlights the Florida Swing.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational field will include those 50 players that qualified for the 2023 BMW Championship. It will also include the Next 10 highest players in the current FedEx Cup standings through the Classic in The Palm Beaches, held Feb. 29-Mar. 3. The Swing 5 will feature top FedExCup points earners not otherwise exempt from the Mexico Open at Vidanta and The Classic in The Palm Beaches.

Following The Masters, the top 70-to-80 players will head to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for the RBC Heritage.

The Next 10 will feature those next 10 players in the current FedExCup standings through the Masters Tournament. The Swing 5 will include the top five FedExCup points earners not otherwise exempt from the Puerto Rico Open, the Valspar Championship, the Texas Children’s Houston Open, and Valero Texas Open.

The PGA Tour returns to Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Wells Fargo Championship from May 9-12.

The Next 10 will feature those next 10 players from the current FedExCup standings through AT&T Byron Nelson, which will be held May 2-5. The Swing 5 will feature the top FedExCup points earners from the Corales Puntacana Championship, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and the AT&T Byron Nelson.

Then, in June, the Memorial Tournament moves back a week as it will be contested the week before the U.S. Open.

It swaps places with the RBC Canadian Open.

At the Memorial, along with the top 50 finishers in the 2022-23 FedEx Cup standings, the Next 10 will feature those next ten players from the current FedExCup standings through RBC Canadian Open. The Swing 5 will be those top FedExCup points earners from the inaugural Myrtle Beach Classic, the Charles Schwab Challenge, and the RBC Canadian Open.

Then, immediately following the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina, the PGA Tour shifts to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, meaning the third major of the season is sandwiched between two Signature Events.

At the Travelers Championship, which will be held from Jun. 20-23, the Next 10 will include those ten players from the current FedExCup standings through U.S. Open. The Swing 5 will consist of the top FedExCup points earners from the same three tournaments needed for the Memorial.

Once the Signature Events conclude, the Tour will have the same playoff structure as in 2023, which will again begin in August.

The Top 70 players in the FedEx Cup standings qualify for the first playoff event in Memphis.

From there, the top 50 will head to Colorado for the BMW Championship.

Then, the 2024 season concludes with the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings going to Atlanta for the Tour Championship at East Lake.

What do you think of the Signature Events? Let us know in the comments below.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.