DP World Tour & PGA Tour Announce Major News For Tour Players

The Strategic Alliance between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour deepened recently, as the latter outlined new opportunities for PGA Tour affiliated players.

Full DP World Tour membership will be issued to PGA Tour players who finish 126th to 200th in the FedEx Cup Fall Points List.

Additionally, Affiliate Membership will be available to any PGA Tour member who participates in any Race to Dubai ranking tournament during the 2024 season.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

The news undoubtedly aligns the two tours further. During a time of uncertainty around professional golf, this should be welcomed news by the rosters of both tours – or should it?

It can be argued that the PGA Tour are benefitting the most from the agreement considering the top 10 players of the DP World Tour will earn a full PGA Tour card for the following campaign.

DP World Tour Full Membership

Full membership will be offered to players who finished outside the top 125 to 200 in the FedEx Cup Fall Points List.

They, alongside affiliate members, will feature in a ‘Non-Member Race to Dubai Points List’ from the first tournament that they earn points.

Furthermore, the players who take full membership will play from a newly created category (12), where only five players from this category can participate in a DP World Tour event in any given event.

Effectively, this prevents PGA Tour members who finished 126 – 200 from overwhelming the DP World Tour and ensures their current stars will continue to feature most weeks.

Players who are eligible for full membership must have finished within 126-200 during the 2022-2023 FedEx Cup Fall Points List.

Golfers will have until December 20, 2023, to join the DP World Tour as full members if they wish to compete in any tournaments during the 2024 calendar year.

DP World Tour Affiliate Membership

As the Strategic Alliance grows stronger, both tours will be hoping to entice members of the other in playing in their events.

Whilst this will certainly be difficult for the more prominent players who wish to do well in the Order of Merit, for fringe players with limited access, this will be a welcomed change.

Moreover, if affiliate members do well during their season, then they can qualify for full membership if they finish in the correct position.

Ultimately, this offers an alternative pathway for golfers who currently reside in America, whilst also boosting the strength of field for the DP World Tour.

However, it can be argued that PGA Tour golfers will pick and choose what events they feature in, which may diminish the opportunities for DP World Tour golfers without full playing rights.

Looking Ahead

The Ten Cards initiative introduced by Keith Pelley may be lucrative to the players who earn full rights on the PGA Tour, but how does it affect the actual tour itself?

By continuing to siphon off their best talent, there may be decreased interest in the DP World Tour as the PGA Tour will surely house the best golfers in the world who aren’t signed with LIV Golf.

Effectively, the DP World Tour has become a feeder tour to its American counterpart, almost like a promotion system from the Championship to the Premier League.

This is where European golf fans become lost; how can a Strategic Alliance benefit one side so strongly, whilst slowly deteriorating the other?

Over the next three years, the DP World Tour will lose its best 30 golfers to the PGA Tour. What does it get in return?

A batch of golfers – who can only compete in groups of five at a time – who failed to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Whilst the PGA Tour openly welcome the very best from the DP World Tour, the golfers who failed to compete regularly on the PGA Tour will gain access to DP World Tour events.

Keith Pelley noted: “Our Ten Cards initiative will give the opportunity for DP World Tour members to excel on the PGA Tour next season.”

Wouldn’t it be brilliant if those ten high-performing golfers could be rewarded by the DP World Tour, as opposed to being shipped off across the world?

The Ten Cards initiative will continue to strengthen the PGA Tour, who benefit greatly from the Strategic Alliance – can the DP World Tour say the same?