PGA Tour expands Player Equity Program: Top 50 of FedEx Cup will receive payouts following feedback
Players will be vying for a piece of the pie when the PGA Tour's postseason rolls around
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The PGA Tour sent a memo to players Thursday informing them that the league will be expanding the Player Equity Program. Golfers who finish inside the top 50 of the 2026 FedEx Cup standings (qualify for the BMW Championship) will all receive recurring equity grants in PGA Tour Enterprises, which will be awarded in April 2027.
The decision comes as a response to feedback from a players meeting at last summer's Rocket Classic that was taken to a November board meeting and ultimately approved.
Roughly 200 PGA Tour members are now equity holders in the program, which has topped $1 billion in value. Current equity holders remain eligible to earn equity through the expanded program, regardless of their stake.
"As the sports industry continues to evolve and attract significant investment, your ownership in the PGA Tour is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation," PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp wrote in the memo. "The PGA Tour's player ownership model stands out as a groundbreaking approach -- giving you the opportunity to benefit from the PGA Tour's growth and success in ways that go beyond weekly purse earnings. In short, as the PGA Tour does better, so do you."
The Player Equity Program was announced in 2024 when the Strategic Sports Group -- a consortium of sports owners from North America -- invested $1.5 billion into the tour's newly created for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, with an additional $1.5 billion investment possible down the road.
Equity grants were first awarded to players based on career performance, recent performance and Player Impact Program metrics. Those individuals who were key in building up the PGA Tour received equity, while additional equity was set aside for future PGA Tour players as well.
