Golf bosses bring in new Tiger-only rule

Tiger Woods, already golf’s first billionaire, now has the opportunity to earn at least $240 million more annually for as long as he chooses to compete. This comes after the PGA Tour introduced a special lifetime exemption for the legendary golfer, allowing him to participate in eight of the tour’s “signature” events each season.

Despite missing the cut at both the recent U.S. Open and the PGA Championship—two of just four events the 48-year-old has played in 2024—Woods was granted this exemption by the PGA Tour policy board in recognition of his “exceptional lifetime achievement.” This unique exemption is exclusive to Woods, who qualifies due to his 82 career victories, surpassing the threshold of 80 wins required. Notably, 13 of these victories were in tournaments that are now part of the PGA Tour’s signature event series.

Woods has only competed in one of this year’s signature events, the Genesis Invitational, which he hosts. Unfortunately, he had to withdraw from this event due to an injury. His sole successful cut this year was at the Masters, where he finished 60th despite struggling with injury.

Over the past three seasons, Woods has only participated in nine official PGA Tour events, making a notable return at the 2022 Masters. The Masters is the only tournament offering lifetime exemptions to its winners. Nevertheless, Woods’ enormous popularity has prompted PGA Tour officials to make an exception, allowing him to compete in events with limited fields of 72 players.

Woods is scheduled to play in the upcoming Open Championship at Royal Troon in Scotland, yet he has indicated that this might be his last tournament for the year. “I’ve only got one more tournament this season,” Woods stated. “Even if I win the British Open, I don’t think I’ll be in the (FedEx Cup) playoffs. Just one more event and then I’ll come back whenever I come back.”

In addition to his limited playing schedule, Woods has taken on a more significant off-course role, notably as part of a subcommittee that recently met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), in New York. These discussions focused on formulating an agreement that could potentially reshape the future of golf.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, in a memo to players, noted that while progress has been made in negotiations, there remains substantial work to reach a binding agreement. “As we’ve said in the past, we can’t negotiate in public, but we are making progress,” Monahan stated in the memo. “Two weeks ago, members of our PGA Tour Enterprises transaction subcommittee met in New York with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, as well as members of his team. During that meeting, we reached consensus on several items, but both parties recognize that there is still work to do to reach a final agreement.”