Korn Ferry Tour plans for $1 million purses in each event by start of 2023 season
Bigger paydays are coming to the Korn Ferry Tour.
The developmental circuit announced Tuesday that it will significantly increase purses over the next two seasons, with each tournament featuring a total prize money of at least $1 million beginning with the 2023 season.
The purse increases were approved by the Policy Board in March 2020, to be implemented for the following season, but were delayed because of the costs associated with dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning next year, the minimum purse for a regular-season Korn Ferry Tour event will be $750,000, a year-over-year increase of $150,000. The purses will jump up another $250,000 the following year, to $1 million – a 66.7% increase over two years.
The tour’s premier events will receive an even larger bump.
The Korn Ferry Tour’s regular-season finale, called the Pinnacle Bank Championship, will feature a $850,000 purse in 2022 and a $1.25 million purse in 2023. This year, the season ender – the event that awards 25 PGA Tour cards for the top season-long points earners – will dole out $750,000 in prize money.
The Korn Ferry Tour Finals, the three-tournament series that hands out another 25 Tour cards, will increase the purses from $1 million each to $1.5 million.
“The Korn Ferry Tour continues to play a massive role in delivering a pipeline of future stars to the PGA Tour on a consistent basis,” said tour president Alex Baldwin. “Today’s announcement is another step in ensuring the Tour will continue to attract the best young talent while providing higher-quality playing opportunities for the entire membership.”
Founded in 1990, the circuit now known as the Korn Ferry Tour initially had a total prize money of $3 million across 30 events. Because of the pandemic, this season’s schedule combines two years (2020-21) and offers total regular-season tournament prize money in the $600,000-$700,000 range, with most winner’s checks around $110,000.
The tour’s current money leader is Stephan Jaeger, who has won twice and earned $464,632 across 25 events. That would rank 138th on the PGA Tour’s money list this season. Only 11 players so far have banked more than $300,000 during the Korn Ferry Tour’s super-season.