"Designated events" rule will not be in effect this season on PGA Tour
A proposal by the PGA Tour that would have forced players to participate in select events that typically have trouble attracting top talent has been tabled and will not be in effect for
the 2011 season. The news that the “designated events” rule will not be in effect this year was confirmed by the PGA Tour and several tournament directors.
The rule would have forced all PGA Tour members who are in the top-30 on the FedEx Cup standings and/or in the top-50 in the world rankings, to choose one tournament from a list of four
to six events to play in over the year. The intention was to give a boost to less prestigious tournaments, who typically have trouble attracting the tour's top players, in an effort to increase their attendance and TV ratings. Moreover, there are numerous
PGA Tour events this year without a title sponsor and having some top players in the field would have been a boon.
Clair Peterson, tournament director for the John Deere Classic, said the players were accepting of the idea but that many tournaments would be insulted if they were included on the list.
"There were concerns from tournaments and title sponsors that they didn't necessarily want to be on a list that could be viewed as "under-performing'' or "we need help'' or are in a class
that puts out of the top tier,'' she told reporters. "That, more than anything, stopped the forward progress. I think players were ready to buy into it.''
At the Tour Championship in September, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem predicted this rule, or a similar one, would be in effect for the 2011 season.
"We will go to one of these models next year, for sure,'' he said at the time. "What model it is, whether it's a rule, whether it's a requirement, whether it's a process that everybody
supports, we're a few weeks away from doing that.''
For rules such as this to be implemented, they need to pass through the PGA Tour Policy Board twice. This past July, the rule passed the policy board but after a two-day meeting earlier
this week, the decision was made to table it.
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