Will PGA Tour’s ‘elevated’ events in 2023 have Monday qualifiers?
Here is some good news for golf lovers. You might get a chance to play in the biggest events of the PGA tour next year.
Three of the PGA Tour’s 13 elevated events for 2023 will have spots for Monday's qualifiers.
The first among these three is going to be the WM Phoenix Open. It will be held on the same weekend as the "Super Bowl". Interestingly, the venue will also be in the same vicinity.
The entry info for the tournaments featuring open qualifiers was posted on the PGA Tour's official website, and the Phoenix Open displays three spots vacant for its Monday qualifier.
The other two tournaments that have spots for Monday's qualifiers are the Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championships. These tournaments are four yearly rotating events. Talking about the purse, all three will have a prize of $20 million.
It only makes sense that these three events are open qualifying as most of the remaining 10 events are limited field events.
Monday's qualifiers come with a big chance of a great payday for PGA Tour members of lower status or Korn Ferry Tour members or local professionals.
Before playing into Monday's Qualifiers at the Phoenix Open, amateurs and pros with no PGA Tour experience will have to play a pre-qualifier for a qualifier. The eight pre-qualifiers have field sizes of 78 players maximum fighting for the only two spots available in Monday's qualifiers. Southwest PGA has posted sign-up info for the Phoenix Open.
According to the tournament page on the Southwest PGA website, the entry fee to play in the pre-qualifier is $250. Furthermore, if one gets through the pre-qualifiers and secures one of the two spots in Monday's qualifiers, they'll have to pay another $250 to play there. However, those who are exempted through pre-qualifying might have to pay anywhere between $0 and $500, depending on status.
Mini Tour insider Ryan French, also known as Monday Q Info on Twitter, said he was expecting the qualifiers to fill up fast, considering the stakes and enthusiasm for the tournament.
This will possibly be the most insane Pre-Q and Monday Q ever
The WM is an elevated event. $20 million purse with a Monday, buckle up, this Monday could possibly have 175 players (not joking).
I’d sign up quick for these pre-Qs, they will be full quick
southwestpga.com/tournaments/to…
What are elevated events?
The term "elevated events" is a new classification system used by the PGA Tour for its biggest tournaments. These are special events as all the top players have agreed to compete in each of these tournaments based on eligibility.
A total of 17 such events are decided and at least 20 top players are expected to compete against each other. As the prize money has also been "elevated", top players will be getting a chance to cash in a good sum of money as a reward.
Each of these PGA Tour-controlled elevated events will have a purse of $20 million. $25 million is the purse for the Players Championship. For the Tour Championship, it is $60 million.
13 out of the 17 elevated tournaments are fixed events, which will happen every year. The remaining four will rotate around the PGA Tour schedule. It will give tournaments and sponsors time to step up in a given break.
The four major men's championships are also termed elevated events by the PGA Tour. However, the purse and qualifying criteria for these events aren't controlled by the PGA Tour.
Here is the schedule: