The PGA Tour recently declared that Tiger Woods alone would now be eligible to qualify for selected events on its calendar, all thanks to the creation of a special exemption.
Players with 80 or more PGA Tour victories will be eligible to qualify for what they call “Signature Events” by being granted the “Sponsor Exemption for Lifetime Achievement”. With 82 career victories, Woods is the only active player who fits into this category. He is tied for the most-ever PGA Tour victories with the late Sam Snead.
According to the PGA Tour, this is being done to acknowledge Tiger Woods in his “own category.”
The ‘Signature Events’
With more FedExCup points up for grabs and bigger prize money, the eight PGA Tour “Signature Events” are the tour’s premier competitions.
Over the course of the season, FedExCup points are accumulated, with the top 70 players earning a spot in the playoffs. The tournament’s prize fund was an incredible $75 million last year, and the champion took home $18 million.
The eight ‘Signature Events’ on the PGA Tour calendar are The Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Genesis Invitational – which Woods has hosted in the previous years – the Arnold Palmer Invitational, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship, The Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.
Woods has already won five times in The Memorial Tournament and eight times in The Arnold Palmer Invitational. Moreover, the athlete has participated in just four competitions: the three majors and the Genesis Invitational. He pulled out of the Genesis tournament in the second round, finished 60th at the Masters, and failed to make the cut at the US Open and PGA Championship.
Source: CNN