Report: Phoenix, Travelers among four additions to Tour’s elevated-status events

The PGA Tour is set to reveal the remaining tournaments that will receive elevated status next season.

According to a Golfweek report, the four events, to be announced later this week, will be the Waste Management Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship. Those tournaments will join the three FedExCup Playoffs events, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, WGC-Dell Match Play and Sentry Tournament of Champions, which will all feature $20 million purses (TOC, at $15 million, is the exception) in 2023 and be mandatory starts for the top 20 players in the Tour’s $100 million Player Impact Program.

Back in August, the Tour revealed sweeping changes as it looks to dissuade its best players from bolting for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit. Among those changes was requiring those top members to tee it up in 20 total tournaments (if eligible), including the four majors, Players Championship, 12 elevated events and three more tournaments of a player’s choosing.

Per the new PIP requirements, these four elevated additions will ensure that the Tour’s best meet a minimum of 17 times and at least twice each month from February to June, including three times each in March and June.

The four new elevated events aren’t expected to permanently maintain that status, as the Tour reportedly wants to create a rotation and ensure that all sponsors have access to paying for elevated privileges.

“The elevated events won’t be the same in 2024,” one person with knowledge of the Tour’s plans told Golfweek. “These events worked with a schedule that had already been announced.”

It’s unknown what the four elevated additions in 2024 will be. Two of next year’s adds, RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo, fall one week after a major on the calendar.